dailyloe.com – The 130th Boston Marathon begins Monday with both defending champions returning to the Hopkinton starting line. Kenya’s Sharon Lokedi and John Korir will face stacked fields in the planet’s most exacting 26.2-mile race. Forecasts predict temperatures in the 40s with a decent tailwind. This raises the question of whether course records could fall again.
Course records at the Boston Marathon are notoriously elusive due to tricky topography and mercurial weather. The race also operates without pacers. Sharon Lokedi demolished the women’s standard last year, breaking a record that had stood since 2014. John Korir ran the fastest men’s time since Geoffrey Mutai established a world best in 2011. Both champions are back to defend their titles.
John Korir’s time of 2 hours, 4 minutes, and 45 seconds was the third-fastest in race history. He might have gone lower had he not been tripped at the start. Korir also ran the last six miles unchallenged. He posted a scorching 2:02:24 in Valencia last December.
“I think if I had someone to push me last year, we would have been very close to the course record,” reckoned Korir. He stated that if everything goes well this year, going for the record is in his mind. The reigning champion will have ample company from other elite runners. Seven of last year’s top-10 finishers are in the field.
Notable contenders include Tanzania’s Alphonce Felix Simbu and Kenya’s CyBrian Kotut. Simbu placed second last year, finishing 19 seconds behind Korir. He later won the world crown in Tokyo by three hundredths of a second. That margin was the smallest in championships history.
“I’m going to run well, I hope that,” said Simbu. CyBrian Kotut placed third in last year’s Boston Marathon. The challenger to watch, however, is Kenya’s Benson Kipruto. Kipruto is the 2021 Boston victor who has since won in Chicago and Tokyo.
Benson Kipruto also claimed the Olympic bronze medal in Paris and captured New York last autumn. No other man has ever managed that collection of major marathon victories. “I’ve been running well in the USA,” said Kipruto. He is making his first Boston appearance in three years and called the USA a second home.
Besides his gilded resume, Kipruto brings priceless knowledge of Boston’s lumpy layout. “Having won before and coming back, I would say it’s quite an advantage to know the course,” said Kipruto. He placed third in Boston in both 2022 and 2023. He emphasized knowing where to attack and where to run smooth.
John Korir won Boston on his third attempt. He received an invaluable how-to-win briefing from his brother, Wesley Korir. Wesley Korir was the 2012 Boston Marathon titlist. This time, John Korir will have a target on his back as the defending champion.
“Everyone who comes here wants to win,” said Korir. He is bidding to become only the second men’s champion to repeat since a specific, unnamed period. The stage is set for a historic race on Monday morning. All eyes will be on whether Geoffrey Mutai’s men’s mark of 2:03:02 or Sharon Lokedi’s women’s record can be broken.
