Kenya’s John Korir knew he was going to take home the crown of the Boston Marathon for the second year in a row when he got to the starting line in Hopkinton on Monday.
What he didn’t know was that he was about to make history.
“I knew I would defend my title, but I didn’t know I would run that fast,” he said.
Fast is a bit of an understatement. Pushed along by a decent tailwind, Korir finished with a time of 02:01:52, setting a new course record in the process.
The previous record of 2:03:02 was set by Korir’s countryman, Geoffrey Mutai, in 2011. That was a record that was broken not just by Korir, but by each of the men’s top three finishers.
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.
“I feel like this course humbles you so much,” she said. “And with the help of people and all the cheers on the course, it just makes it even [more] special. So, I’m really grateful and happy.”
Continuing the dominance was Switzerland’s Marcel Hug, who won the men’s wheelchair division for the ninth time. That’s just one short of the all-time record of 10 wins set by Ernst Van Dyk. They don’t call him “The Silver Bullet” for nothing.
“I mean every single win here in Boston is really something special, very unique,” Hug said. “And means a lot to me. And now nine times [to] win is even more incredible.”
In the women’s wheelchair division, Britain’s Eden Rainbow-Cooper didn’t repeat, but took home her second crown after winning in 2024. She said winning before showed that it was possible.
“But it was still a surprise today. You know, 1:30 is a really fast time,” she said. “Like, I never thought that I would probably ever do that in race. So that was different, but it’s always a privilege and an honor.”
Thirty thousand participants were expected to take to the famed course on Monday, a day that turned out to have near perfect weather of temperatures hovering near 50 and decent cloud coverage.
It was a far cry from "The Run for the Hoses" that happened 50 years ago in the '76 Marathon. And whether they were record setters, everyday runners or even the daughter of a president, the left turn on to Boylston is sure to be a moment they’ll cherish for a long time.