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Joan Benoit Samuelson will run this year’s Boston Marathon

Joan Benoit-Samuelson. Jim Davis/2010 globe staff file

Former course record-holder Joan Benoit Samuelson, 61, will take part in the 2019 edition of the Boston Marathon April 15.

As a 21-year-old Bowdoin College student 40 years ago, Samuelson won the 1979 race, finishing in a then-record time of 2 hours, 35 minutes, and 15 seconds. She followed that with a 1983 victory in a world-record time of 2:22:43.

“My goal is to run within 40 minutes of my time 40 years ago, which would be sub-3:15:35,” said Samuelson. “I might as well celebrate during an anniversary year, while I’m still able!”

This will be Samuelson’s first Boston Marathon since 2015, when she finished in under three hours. She will join 16 previous Boston winners running this year.

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The current women’s record for the race is 2:19:59 by Ethiopian Buzunesh Deba in 2014.


Dan Shulman can be reached at dan.shulman@globe.com; follow him on Twitter @DanielRShulman.