KORIR BREAKS BOSTON COURSE RECORD AS HE AND LOKEDI REPEAT

John Korir ran 2:01:52 on April 20, cutting 70 seconds from a course record that had stood since 2011. The 130th running of the Boston Marathon sent three men under the old mark and returned both defending champions to the top step.

The Men's Race

A lead pack pushed early by Alex Maier reached 10K in 29:02. Korir sat in through the flat opening stretch, then moved approaching Heartbreak Hill before mile 20, passing Milkesa Mengesha and opening a gap that never closed.

He led by 26 seconds at 35K and by 43 seconds at 40K. Alphonce Simbu of Tanzania finished second in 2:02:47, and Benson Kipruto third in 2:02:50.

All three beat the 2:03:02 Geoffrey Mutai ran in 2011. Korir won last year in 2:04:45 after being tripped at the start, and this time took nearly three minutes off that. Follow the full Boston Marathon coverage for past winners and race history.

The Women's Race

Sharon Lokedi won in 2:18:51, her second consecutive Boston title. The lead group came through halfway in 1:11:02 with Kodi Kleven and Dakotah Popehn setting the pace.

By 21 miles the race had narrowed to Lokedi, Irine Cheptai and Loice Chemnung. Lokedi broke clear shortly before the two-hour mark and kept extending to the line.

Chemnung took second in 2:19:35 and Mary Ngugi-Cooper third in 2:20:07. Mercy Chelangat was fourth in 2:20:30, completing a Kenyan sweep of the top four.

Wheelchair Divisions

Marcel Hug won his ninth Boston wheelchair title in 1:16:06, riding a tailwind to a time second only to the course record he set in 2024. Eden Rainbow-Cooper won the women's race in 1:30:51, finishing more than two minutes ahead of Catherine Debrunner for her second Boston title.

Americans and Conditions

Zouhair Talbi led the American men in 2:03:45 for fifth overall, ahead of Charles Hicks (seventh, 2:04:35) and Clayton Young (11th, 2:05:41). Jess McClain was the top American woman in 2:20:49 for fifth, followed by Annie Frisbie (2:22:00) and Emily Sisson (2:22:39).

Runners reached Hopkinton with frost on the ground and temperatures in the 30s. It had warmed to 45 degrees by the elite start, the coldest Boston start since 2018. A field of 24,362 set off.

Korir and Lokedi are the first pair to defend Boston titles in the same year since Uta Pippig and Cosmas Ndeti in 1995. Korir came in as the pre-race favorite.