Updated April 20, 2026, 11:59 a.m. ET
In dominating vogue, John Korir of Kenya has repeated as men’s champion within the 2026 Boston Marathon.
Following a technique much like the one which carried him to final yr’s crown, Korir surged into the lead across the 20-mile level and opened up an enormous lead on his closest rivals. He completed in a course document 2:01:52.
The girls’s division has been far more carefully contested with a lead pack of almost a dozen runners − together with defending girls’s champion Sharon Lokedi − sticking collectively by way of the primary two-thirds of the race.
An estimated 30,000 racers have lined the course from Hopkinton to Boston for the a hundred and thirtieth version of the world’s oldest constantly run marathon.
USA TODAY Sports is offering updates all through the day on the progress of the runners, as nicely as another actions taking place alongside the race route.
How to look at 2026 Boston Marathon
The 2026 Boston Marathon is being broadcast on WCVB Channel 5 in Boston (and its regional sister stations) till 8 p.m. ET.
For these exterior the Northeast, the race is airing reside on ESPN2 till 12:30 p.m. ET.
John Korir wins second consecutive Boston Marathon
Kenya’s John Korir has prevailed as soon as once more in Boston.
Korir adopted up his 2025 title with one other dominating efficiency, making his transfer in Newton and leaving the remainder of the pack behind.
He completed with a profitable time of two:01:52, setting a course document within the course of. Alphonce Felix Simbu of Tanzania (2:02:47) completed second and Benson Kipruto (2:02:50) of Kenya got here in third. All three had been quicker than the earlier course document
John Korir breaks from the pack
Defending men’s champion John Korir is making a robust bid to repeat. Taking over the lead at almost the identical spot he made his profitable transfer a yr in the past, Korir surged to the entrance and began to tug away across the 20-mile mark.
The Kenyan has put some severe strain on the remainder of the sphere as he hit Heartbreak Hill.
Meanwhile, there’s a group of almost a dozen girls − together with defending girls’s champion Sharon Lokedi − nonetheless within the lead pack as they hit Mile 17.
What is Heartbreak Hill?
The most well-known a part of the course comes between the twentieth and twenty first mile — Heartbreak Hill. It is an uphill portion of lower than a half mile as the runners cross close to the campus of Boston College, but it surely’s thought-about an important a part of the race as a result of it is the place members’ vitality usually is depleted as they “hit the wall.”
There, in 1936, defending champion Johnny Kelley caught race chief Tarzan Brown and gave him a pat on the shoulder as he handed. However, Brown rallied to win and in response to the Boston Globe’s account of the race, “broke Kelley’s heart” — therefore the identify Heartbreak Hill.
Marcel Hug wins ninth men’s wheelchair title
Dominating just about from begin to end, Switzerland’s Marcel Hug trounced the remainder of the men’s wheelchair subject to win for the ninth time in Boston.
Hug completed with an unofficial time of 1:16:05, simply off his course document time of 1:15:35 set in 2024.
American Daniel Romanchuk completed second, a number of minutes again.
On the ladies’s facet, Eden Rainbow-Cooper of Great Britain crossed the end line first in an unofficial time of 1:30:51.
What is Patriots’ Day?
Patriots’ Day acknowledges the Battles of Lexington and Concord and the aftermath of the “shot heard ’round the world,” which celebrated its 250th anniversary final yr.
Originally, the vacation was all the time held on April 19, the anniversary of the battle. However, that has since been modified to be celebrated on third Monday in April.
It’s an official state vacation in Massachusetts and 5 different states: Maine (the place it’s Patriot’s Day), Florida, Wisconsin, Connecticut and North Dakota.
− Bailey Allen, USA TODAY NETWORK – New England
Top Americans at 2026 Boston Marathon
While Kenyans have dominated each the men’s and girls’s divisions in Boston just lately, there are nonetheless several American runners who could make a significant impact on this yr’s race.
On the ladies’s facet:
- Jess McClain, 34, is the highest American finisher from a yr in the past, coming in seventh.
- Fiona O’Keefe turned the youngest Olympic Trials marathon winner in 2024 at age 25.
- Emily Sisson set the North American document within the marathon (2:18:29) whereas ending second in Chicago in 2022. A two-time All-American at Providence, that is the 34-year-old’s first time operating the Boston Marathon.
- Sara Hall, 42, holds two medals from World Marathon Majors: ending second in London in 2020 and third in Chicago in 2021.
- Susanna Sullivan, 35, completed seventh on the 2024 Chicago Marathon and tenth at each the 2023 and 2025 London Marathons.
Among the boys:
- CJ Albertson, 32, holds the world document within the 50-kilometer run in 2:38:43, set in 2022. He led the pack within the first 20 miles of the 2021 Boston Marathon.
- Ryan Ford, 28, completed tenth in final yr’s Boston Marathon in a personal-best 2:08:00.
- Alex Maier, 26, received the 2025 USA Half Marathon Championship. He positioned second on the Houston Half Marathon and fourth on the New York City Half Marathon.
- Former Olympian Galen Rupp, 39, received a bronze medal within the marathon on the 2016 Rio Games and a silver medal within the 10,000 meters in London in 2012.
- Clayton Young, 32, was the No. 2 American eventually yr’s Boston Marathon, ending in 2:07:04.
Professional men’s, girls’s racers off and operating
The 2026 Boston Marathon champions are actually on the course. We simply do not know who they’re fairly but.
The elite men’s and girls’s racers have begun their 26.2-mile treks to glory, with the boys getting underway at 9:37 a.m. ET and the ladies at 9:47.
Both mass begins happened with out incident.
How to trace Boston Marathon runners
Is there somebody you wish to monitor as they race at present? There’s an app for that.
The BAA Racing App is obtainable in each the Apple and Android retailer, which is able to mean you can monitor runners.
If apps aren’t your factor, the BAA website has reside monitoring. If you might have a runner’s bib quantity or identify you’ll be able to observe their race and see the outcomes on the end line.
− Katie Landeck, WickedLocal.com
Wheelchair racers are off in Boston
Under sunny skies, the skilled men’s and girls’s wheelchair members are off and rolling. They’re the primary teams to hit the course underneath the Boston Marathon’s staggered begins.
The men’s skilled runners are set to start at 9:37 a.m. ET, with the skilled girls 10 minutes after that.
Boston Marathon climate
It’s slightly chilly in Beantown as marathon rivals start making their solution to the beginning line in Hopkinton. According to AccuWeather, the mercury sat at a nippy 39 levels at 8 a.m. ET on the way in which to a excessive round 50 this afternoon.
A slight breeze shall be popping out of the west all through the day at as much as 10 mph, offering a pleasant tailwind for the runners for many of the course.
The skilled racers all congregate at a resort throughout from the end line in downtown Boston earlier than boarding buses that may take them to the beginning. The anticipation is palpable, as evidenced by this on-the-scene report from WCVB-TV.
What time is 2026 Boston Marathon?
The Boston Marathon staggers its begin occasions for racers with the wheelchair members beginning first. The skilled racers, each women and men, get a soar on the remainder of the sphere – which is damaged up into six totally different waves.
- 9:06 A.M. ET – Wheelchair Division – Men
- 9:09 A.M. ET – Wheelchair Division – Women
- 9:30 A.M. ET – Handcycles & Duo Participants
- 9:37 A.M. ET – Professional Men
- 9:47 A.M. ET – Professional Women
- 9:50 A.M. ET – Para Athletics Division
- 10:00 A.M. ET – Wave 1
- 10:15 A.M. ET – Wave 2
- 10:28 A.M. ET – Wave 3
- 10:41 A.M. ET – Wave 4
- 11:01 A.M. ET – Wave 5
- 11:21 A.M. ET – Wave 6
Notable 2026 Boston Marathon entrants
The Boston Athletic Association’s website lists a number of celebrities, sports activities stars and different notable names who’re operating within the 2026 marathon. Among them:
- Bryan Arenales, 2025 Love Island Season 7 winner
- Amby Burfoot, 1968 Boston Marathon Champion
- Zdeno Chara, former Boston Bruins captain
- Chelsea Clinton, writer and advocate
- Jeff DaRosa, musician, Dropkick Murphys
- Laura Green, operating comic
- Chris Herren, former Boston Celtics participant
- Kristine Lilly, former Team USA soccer participant
- Des Linden, 2018 Boston Marathon Champion
- Suni Williams, astronaut and trailblazer
2026 Boston Marathon course
The 26.2-mile marathon course begins in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, and heads by way of Ashland, Framingham, Natick, Wellesley, Newton and Brookline earlier than going into Boston and ending on Boylston Street, subsequent to the Boston Public Library.
The full course map with mile markers, elevation and extra data may be discovered on the Boston Marathon’s web site.
Boston Marathon map
The race begins in staggered waves at Hopkinton, Massachusetts, on Main Street. Runners proceed alongside Route 135 by way of Ashland, Framingham, Natick, and Wellesley earlier than merging onto Route 16 into Newton. From there, the course turns onto Commonwealth Avenue and ascends the difficult Newton Hills, together with the well-known Heartbreak Hill between miles 20 and 21.
Afterward, it passes the Chestnut Hill Reservoir and continues onto Beacon Street by way of Brookline and Kenmore Square. The closing stretch consists of the well-known proper flip onto Hereford Street and a left onto Boylston Street, culminating at Copley Square beside the Boston Public Library. — Elizabeth Flores
Who received 2025 Boston Marathon?
Last yr, Sharon Lokedi of Kenya obliterated the course record by greater than two minutes, utilizing a blistering kick down the stretch to win the ladies’s division in 2 hours, 17 minutes and 22 seconds.
In the men’s race, Kenyan John Korir used a robust transfer round Mile 20 to separate himself from the remainder of the leaders and win in 2:04:45. The victory allowed Korir to hitch his older brother, Wesley, as the one siblings to win the Boston Marathon.
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