☀️Back to work after Patriot’s Day. Mostly sunny with a high near 50. Sunset is at 7:33 p.m.
Around 30,000 participants turned out for the famed Boston Marathon yesterday, with near-perfect running weather of temperatures hovering near 50 and decent cloud coverage. It was a record-setting day with Kenya’s John Korir taking home the crown for the second year in a row and — pushed along by a decent tailwind — setting a new course record of 02:01:52. “I knew I would defend my title, but I didn’t know I would run that fast,” he said.
It was a performance that will go down in history. And Korir wasn’t alone in defending his title. Sharon Lokedi, also of Kenya, took home the crown once again with a time of 2:18:51. She missed the course high mark she set herself last year by about a minute and a half.
Marcel Hug of Switzerland won the men’s wheelchair division for a ninth time in a time of 1:16:06, while Eden Rainbow-Cooper of Great Britain won the women’s wheelchair division for the second time, setting a personal best of 1:30:51.
See below for sights and stories from the day — but first, a few headlines.
Four Things to Know
1. Nike has taken down a controversial sign at its Newbury Street store that prompted a backlash from disability advocates. The sign, displayed prominently on an outside window a few blocks from the finish line of the Boston Marathon, read, “Runners welcome. Walkers tolerated.” Yesterday, a new sign replaced the one removed last week which reads, “Boston will always remind you, movement is what matters.”
2. In lighter fare, over the weekend, dozens of golden retrievers gathered on the Boston Common for a meet-and-greet with runners and others. The annual event is partly a fundraiser for canine cancer research at the Morris Animal Foundation’s Golden Retriever Lifetime Study, and is held in collaboration with Life Is Golden Company. It was started in honor of Spencer, the golden retriever who was the official Boston Marathon dog and died in 2023.
3. And, now that we’re getting 13 hours of daylight, it’s a good time to start getting into the garden. As you consider what to put in the ground this year, one expert says native plants should be at the top of your list. Meteorologist Dave Epstein spoke with Elise Howard, local author and gardener, for GBH’s Morning Edition for a quick study on native plants.
4. Gov. Maura Healey has signed a law reforming the state’s cannabis regulations and rebooting the Cannabis Control Commission. Under the legislation (H 5350), the current CCC is immediately dissolved and downsized from five members to three, all to be appointed by the governor. Healey now has 30 days to reappoint a new CCC, which has been riddled with internal conflict for years. Sunday was the deadline for Healey to sign the bill, which lawmakers sent to her desk April 9. Healey’s office said it has “already begun the process of identifying commissioners.”
Here are photos from the 2026 Boston Marathon
GBH News photo intern Arthur Mansavage was in Copley Square from early morning Monday through the race. See some of his best photos here, taken from early in the morning as runners boarded buses to Hopkinton, to when those same runners returned hours later to cross the finish line downtown.
Dig deeper:
-Live updates on the 2026 Boston Marathon
-Local run clubs provide support and community, defying the sport’s solo reputation
-For 50 years, two friends have helped keep Boston Marathon runners safe
