super admin
pinalti.com – The 130th Boston Marathon begins Monday in Hopkinton with both defending champions returning. Sharon Lokedi and John Korir will face stacked fields. The race is known for its tricky topography and mercurial weather.
Lokedi broke the women’s course record last year. That record had stood since 2014. John Korir ran the fastest men’s time since 2011.
Geoffrey Mutai set the men’s course record in 2011. His time was 2 hours, 3 minutes, and 2 seconds. Korir’s time last year was 2:04:45.
That was the third-fastest time in race history. Korir was tripped at the start of last year’s race. He also ran the final six miles unchallenged.
Korir said he could have been closer to the record. He stated this in a direct quote. ‘I think if I had someone to push me last year, we would have been very close to the course record,’ Korir reckoned.
Korir ran a time of 2:02:24 in Valencia last December. He said going for the Boston record is in his mind. This depends on everything going well.
Forecasts predict temperatures in the 40s on Monday. A decent tailwind is also expected. This raises the question of whether Mutai’s mark could fall.
Seven of last year’s top-10 men’s finishers are returning. This includes Alphonce Felix Simbu of Tanzania. CyBrian Kotut of Kenya also returns.
Simbu finished 19 seconds behind Korir last year. He later won the world crown in Tokyo. His victory margin was three hundredths of a second.
Simbu discussed his hopes for the race. ‘I’m going to run well, I hope that,’ Simbu said. The margin in Tokyo was the smallest in championships history.
Benson Kipruto is another key challenger. He won the Boston Marathon in 2021. Kipruto has since won in Chicago, Tokyo, and New York.
He also claimed an Olympic bronze medal in Paris. No other man has achieved all those victories. Kipruto is making his first Boston appearance in three years.
Kipruto spoke about running in the United States. ‘I’ve been running well in the USA,’ said Kipruto. He described it as a second home.
Kipruto has valuable knowledge of the Boston course. He placed third in Boston in both 2022 and 2023. He discussed the advantage of knowing the layout.
‘Having won before and coming back, I would say it’s quite an advantage to know the course,’ Kipruto said. He noted it helps to know where to attack.
John Korir received advice from his brother Wesley. Wesley Korir won the Boston Marathon in 2012. John Korir won on his third attempt.
Korir now has a target on his back as champion. ‘Everyone who comes here wants to win,’ Korir said. He is bidding to become only the second men’s champion to repeat.
The Boston Marathon is the planet’s most exacting 26.2-miler. Course records are notoriously elusive. The absence of pacers adds to the challenge.
Source: The Boston Globe
