On April 20, over 30,000 people gathered to participate in the 130th Boston Marathon. The 26.2 mile race, known for being the toughest of the major marathons, started in Hopkinton as it has since 1924 and concluded right on Boylston Street in Boston.
The event, which has been contested annually since 1897, is contested on a course with steep, quad-thrashing downhills for the first 16 miles, followed by a five mile stretch of hills in Newton, including one named “Heartbreak Hill”, a steep hill named for a moment in the 1936 marathon, when Ellison Brown, who was leading, was passed by defending champion Johnny Kelley. This gave Brown enough motivation to overtake Kelley once more and win the event. It is also the spot where most runners “hit a wall” and start to struggle. The last few miles go right into Boston’s iconic city streets, where a winner is eventually crowned.
Kenyan runner John Korir won the event in the men’s division with a time of 2:01:52, breaking the record held by Geoffrey Mutai since 2011. This was also Korir’s second victory in Boston, as he won the 2025 Marathon. Also competing in the event were elite runners Alphonse Simbu (of Tanzania) and Cyprian Kotut (of Kenya).
Sharon Lokedi of Kenya won the women’s division for the second time, beating out fellow Kenyans Loice Chemnung and Mary Ngugi-Cooper. Lokedi’s time was 2:18:51. Jessica McClain set a course record for American women, placing fifth.
This year saw many notable participants compete. In the men’s division, NHL legend Zdeno Chara, 1968 men’s champion Amby Burfoot, former NBA player Chris Herren, and Dropkick Murphys guitarist Jeff DaRosa all completed the course. In the women’s category, former soccer player Kristine Lilly, former first daughter Chelsea Clinton, 2018 women’s champion Desiree Linden, and former astronaut Sunita Williams all competed. In particular, Williams’ participation was notable, as even though she had a time of 5:52:49, she made a comeback after a lengthy 286 days on the Boeing Starliner during the failed mission. She was the first person to ever run a marathon in space, and previously ran the marathon in 2008.
At NECC, students were quite surprised by the news. Sports editor John Mulcahy called Korir’s record “unbelievable”, further stating “it’s crazy how far people have come in running.” Many on social media thought Mutai’s record was unbreakable, and some even referred to Korir as superhuman for breaking Mutai’s record.
Of course, the Boston Marathon also had some remarkable stories. Thirteen years ago, the marathon was abruptly stopped by the tragic events of April 15, 2013, when two homemade bombs detonated near the finish line, killing three and injuring hundreds of others. This year, Henry Richard, the older brother of bombing victim Martin Richard, finished the race with a time of 4:34:13. His perseverance thirteen years after unimaginable tragedy has gained attention on social media.
Going forward, next year’s Boston Marathon will be the 131st edition of the event, and the qualifying times have not yet been posted. Interested runners should also be aware of a cutoff time in the event that there are more qualifying runners than there are slots for the race. If interested, runners can visit www.baa.org, the website of the Boston Athletic Association.
