The 2026 Boston Marathon was the 130th official edition of the annual marathon race in Boston, Massachusetts, held on Monday, . It was a Platinum Label marathon and the second of seven World Marathon Majors scheduled for 2026 following the 2026 Tokyo Marathon on March 1.
For the 2026 edition, runners who ran 4 minutes and 34 seconds faster than the qualifying time for their gender and age group were accepted to the race, for a total of 24,362 runners. Organizers introduced a newly redesigned medal for race finishers—golden on a blue and gold ribbon—manufactured by the North Attleborough-based company Ashworth Awards.
John Korir ran a course record time of 2:01:52, besting Geoffrey Mutai's prior record of 2:03:02 from 2011. Alphonce Simbu and Benson Kipruto also broke the course record, with second and third place times of 2:02:47 and 2:02:50, respectively. Jess McClain set a new American women's course record with a time of 2:20:49.
Entrants
Elite male athletes included John Korir, the 2025 champion, Alphonce Simbu, and Cybrian Kotut. Conner Mantz withdrew in late March. Elite female athletes included Sharon Lokedi, the 2025 champion, Dakotah Popehn, and Emily Sisson. Fiona O'Keeffe withdrew the day before the race.
Other notable participants, as announced by event organizers, included Amby Burfoot (1968 men's champion), Zdeno Chara (former Boston Bruins captain), Chelsea Clinton (former first daughter), Jeff DaRosa (guitarist for the Dropkick Murphys), Chris Herren (former NBA player), Kristine Lilly (former player on the U.S. women's national soccer team), Desiree Linden (2018 women's champion), and Sunita Williams (former astronaut). Each of the aforementioned completed the race.
Carlos and Mia Sanchez became the first documented grandfather-granddaughter duo to qualify for and complete the Boston Marathon in the same year.
Results
Open +Elite men top finishersPlaceAthleteNationalityTime John Korir 2:01:52 Alphonce Simbu 2:02:47 Benson Kipruto 2:02:50 4 Hailemaryam Kiros 2:03:42 5 Zouhair Talbi 2:03:45 6 Tebello Ramakongoana 2:04:18 7 Charles Hicks 2:04:35 8 Richard Ringer 2:04:47 9 Alex Masai 2:05:32 10 Milkesa Mengesha 2:05:35 John Korir repeated as champion and set a new course record.
+Elite women top finishersPlaceAthleteNationalityTime Sharon Lokedi 2:18:51 Loice Chemnung 2:19:35 Mary Ngugi-Cooper 2:20:07 4 Mercy Chelangat 2:20:30 5 Jessica McClain 2:20:49 6 Irine Cheptai 2:20:54 7 Workenesh Edesa 2:21:52 8 Annie Frisbie 2:22:00 9 Emily Sisson 2:22:39 10 Carrie Ellwood 2:22:53 Sharon Lokedi repeated as champion.
Jessica McClain set a new course record for American women.
References
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