Boston Marathon Highlights: Evans Chebet Repeats as Champion; Hellen Obiri Wins Boston Debut

Jan 13, 2024

The two Kenyans outpaced their fields, but their countryman Eliud Kipchoge, the world's greatest marathoner, stumbled to sixth place in his first Boston Marathon.

Scott Cacciola

BOSTON — The Boston Marathon can humble even the most decorated champions. Runners who are new to its topography might get the wrong idea at the start, thanks to an opening chunk of Route 135 that unspools toward Ashland, Mass. It is downhill and fast, offering a bit of sadistic sleight of hand that masks the climbs to come as the course works its way toward Boylston Street in Boston.

It is one thing to study a map and be forewarned. It is another thing altogether to lace up your carbon-plated super sneakers and experience it firsthand.

On Monday, the 127th edition of the Boston Marathon served up its usual grab bag of triumphs and small calamities. In defending his men's title, Evans Chebet of Kenya used his experience to separate himself from a celebrated field that included Eliud Kipchoge, the world-record holder. And Hellen Obiri exercised patience to make it a Kenyan sweep by taking the women's crown in only her second marathon.

"When it comes to running a marathon, anything can happen," said Obiri, 33, who embraced her 7-year-old daughter, Tania, after crossing the finish line in 2 hours 21 minutes 38 seconds. "It's a long, long way."

A long, long way for about 30,000 athletes who tackled the course amid cold, early-morning drizzles, and a long, long way for Kipchoge, the biggest luminary of them all.

Kipchoge, 38, arrived in Boston last week having achieved nearly everything that there is to achieve in the sport of running, winning two Olympic gold medals and 10 world marathon majors. Last year, he broke his own world record when he won the Berlin Marathon for the fourth time in 2:01:09.

But he had never run Boston, which is notorious for its rolling hills. And only rarely has he had to settle for bib No. 2, but Monday was one of those days. Bib No. 1 belonged to Chebet, 34, as the defending champion.

Still, Kipchoge seemed determined to assert himself from the start, leading the elite men through the opening mile in a lung-searing 4:35. And there he stayed, up at the front, all the way to Mile 20, when Chebet made a surge and Kipchoge crumbled.

Chebet and Benson Kipruto, the 2021 champion, are training partners, and they agreed to work together. They even shared a water bottle a couple of miles from the finish. More important, neither seemed in awe of Kipchoge. In fact, they appeared motivated by his presence, as if they had something to prove against him.

"Our confidence in the quality of our training made us feel good about taking on this race," Chebet said.

Chebet won in 2:05:54. Gabriel Geay of Tanzania finished second, and Kipruto was third. Kipchoge finished sixth in 2:09:23, his poorest showing since he placed eighth at the London Marathon in 2020.

Kipchoge, who did not appear at a post-race news conference, congratulated his competitors in a statement released to race organizers.

"I live for the moments where I get to challenge the limits," he said. "It's never guaranteed, it's never easy. Today was a tough day for me. I pushed myself as hard as I could. But sometimes, we must accept that today wasn't the day to push the barrier to a greater height."

Chebet, who also won the New York City Marathon in November, said Monday's win was the greatest result of his career. He became the first man since Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot in 2008 to defend his Boston title.

"I’m happy because I know this race," Chebet said. "So maybe next year I’ll come back and win it again."

Obiri approached Boston as something of a marathon neophyte, even though she was already a legend on the global running stage. She is the only woman to have won world titles in indoor track, outdoor track and cross-country. She also has two Olympic silver medals in the 5,000 meters.

Last year, she joined the On Athletics Club and moved to Boulder, Colo., so she could be coached by Dathan Ritzenhein, the former Olympic marathoner. Obiri's younger teammates sometimes refer to their training runs with her as doing "Obiri miles," which means they are hard miles.

But like Kipchoge, Obiri is not immune to tough tests and even the occasional mistake. When she made her marathon debut in New York in November, she went out too hard — she doubled as a "pacemaker," she said — and faded to a sixth-place finish. She also erred by failing to consume enough water and electrolytes. In hindsight, Ritzenhein said, the experience taught her a great deal.

"It really made her fear and respect the event," he said.

But Obiri was not exactly in a rush to do another marathon. A few days after she won the New York City Half Marathon last month, Ritzenhein gauged her interest in entering Boston. Obiri asked if she could have a week to think it over.

"No," Ritzenhein recalled telling her, "text me tonight."

Obiri decided to go for it. Ritzenhein said her training, which included a long, consistent stretch of 100-mile weeks, gave him the confidence that she could excel in Boston, with a fresh opportunity to put many of the lessons she had learned into practice. Ritzenhein advised her to be cautious through the first 21 miles.

"She was smart and just waited," he said. "I didn't think she could wait as long as she did."

Obiri is a ferocious runner, with long, loping strides. And at Mile 24, she pushed forward. The wait was over. Ritzenhein said he could sense as much from her stride. "The power came out," he said.

Obiri doubled over with emotion after she crossed the finish line. Amane Beriso of Ethiopia was 12 seconds back in second place, and Lonah Salpeter of Israel finished third.

"I was feeling like my body was ready and everything was ready," Obiri said. "And I said to myself, I can't do it from the front. If I can just wait, wait — because my coach told me that the marathon is about patience. So I tried to be patient until the right time."

Emma Bates, a native of Elk River, Minn., ran in the lead pack for much of the race and placed fifth as the top American. Scott Fauble finished seventh as the top American man.

Talya Minsberg

Just finished the Boston Marathon. Joining the huddled shivering masses with medals wandering the streets of Boston now.

Ben Shpigel

At 2:49 p.m., the time when two bombs exploded on Boylston Street during the 2013 marathon, runners continued to cross the finish line. On Saturday, the 10-year anniversary of the bombings, the bell at the historic Old South Church rang to commemorate the moment.

Ben Shpigel

A former Boston Bruins star, a Heisman Trophy winner and a renowned chef are among the tens of thousands of Boston Marathon entrants slogging through the wind and rain on Monday.

The list of celebrity runners includes the tennis player Monica Puig Rakitt and the restaurateur Daniel Humm, but most of the familiar runners are fixtures in the Boston sporting landscape — from the beloved defenseman Zdeno Chara to the former N.F.L. and Boston College quarterback Doug Flutie to the pitcher Ryan Dempster, who played only one season for the Red Sox, in 2013, when, motivated by the Boston Marathon bombings to help the city heal, they won the World Series.

Not even an hour after Dempster pitched for the Red Sox on April 15, two bombs exploded near the marathon's finish line, a little more than a mile from Fenway Park. Dempster recently told Peter Abraham of The Boston Globe that he will "never forget that day" and that his season in Boston felt like 10 "with everything that happened."

"The way the city allowed us to have a small role in people recovering changed my perspective about baseball," Dempster told The Globe. "That's why I wanted to come back and run the Marathon. Of course I had to do it in Boston."

Dempster is running in honor of Lu Lingzi, a Boston University student who was killed in the attack.

Talya Minsberg and Matthew Futterman

Des Linden, who won this race in 2018, ran her 10th Boston Marathon on Monday, finishing in 18th place with a time of 2 hours 27 minutes 18 seconds. She was one of several athletes, spectators and survivors who spoke to The New York Times about how the meaning of the Boston Marathon finish line has changed in the 10 years since the 2013 bombing:

It's the most iconic marathon in the world, and the stretch to the line itself is historic. I remember saying in 2013, on Patriots’ Day, that this is where everyone wants to be. This is the focus of the running world but being on a Monday it's the focus of the whole sports world.

I love this race. It's what made me fall in love with the marathon. It's such an epic experience.

You think of all the epic races and the iconic races that have run down that stretch, and then you think of all the masses of people and all their inspirational stories behind them. And you know that shared pride when you get to that finish line.

Ian MacLellan

A view from Beacon Street just before Mile 25.

Matthew Futterman

About 20 percent of the 30,000 runners in the Boston Marathon earned their entry by raising money for charity, but nearly all of the others had to qualify with times that classified them in the upper tier of runners in their age groups.

For the lay marathoner, qualifying for Boston is a crowning achievement. It's also an opportunity to run a monster of a course that goes mostly downhill for the first 16 miles, deceptively shredding the quadriceps muscles, and then travels uphill for most of the next five. At the top of Heartbreak Hill in Mile 20 of the race, the Citgo sign outside Fenway Park, roughly a mile from the finish, comes into view. It looks so close and so, so far. The amateurs are out on the course now. Here's a look at what they’re encountering.

By Julie Walton Shaver

Ian MacLellan

Runners continuing along Commonwealth Avenue in Boston.

Lauren McCarthy

The rain isn't letting up, but neither are the throngs of dedicated Bostonians. Jim Brinson, 80, said he was still having fun as he sat course-side in a folding chair while holding an umbrella overhead. He estimated that he's watched 40 Boston marathons. This year, he was waiting to cheer on his grandson's girlfriend.

Jonathan Ellis

Earlier, Hellen Obiri of Kenya spoke to reporters after winning the women's race in her Boston Marathon debut. "I knew Boston Marathon was a tough course," she said. But her goal was to "try, try."

Jonathan Ellis

When Evans Chebet was asked by a reporter whether he was surprised that Eliud Kipchoge had fallen back in the race, Chebet made it clear that he hadn't been too concerned with tracking his opponent's shortcomings. "That I did not observe," he said through a translator.

He added: "Eliud was not so much of a threat. Bottom line is we had trained well. Our confidence in the quality of training just made us feel good about taking on the race."

Jonathan Ellis

Evans Chebet and Benson Kipruto of Kenya, who are training partners, finished first and third. "We agreed to stick together to the end," Chebet told reporters through a translator.

Lauren McCarthy

Students are still dedicated to doling out smooches amid a backdrop of deafening shrieks and "kiss her" chants through the famous "Scream Tunnel" at Wellesley College — despite requests from the school and the race organizers to refrain in recent years because of the pandemic.

"I didn't really hear anything about kissing this year," said Heather Gager, 20, a sophomore who was waiting for a peck from a runner she knows. "We wait all year for this," she said. "It's a big deal for us."

Said one sign: "Kiss me, I finished my thesis."

Lauren McCarthy

SriVani Ganti and her mother, Aruna, had a prime location at the start line to support SriVani's sister, Sailaja. The Ganti family are longtime spectators of the Boston marathon, but SriVani said her sister "broke the tradition in a good way" this year by taking on the 26.2 miles with Black Girls Run. "It's nice to see South Asian runners," she said.

Ben Shpigel

For most of the Boston Marathon, Emma Bates ran in the lead pack.

She ran with the major marathon champion, Lonah Salpeter. She ran with the former half-marathon world-record holder, Ababel Yeshaneh. And she ran with the two-time Olympic medalist Hellen Obiri, who would eventually sprint away on Monday to win her first marathon.

Soon after Obiri won, though, Bates crossed the line in fifth place, the best finish by an American woman. Bates, a native of Elk River, Minn., stayed in contention until the final mile and completed the course in 2 hours, 22 minutes and 10 seconds, a personal best by more than one minute.

Afterward, Bates said that she didn't expect to be in front so late. Her coach, she said, had advised her to focus on staying in the chase pack, behind the top women, and then pounce toward the end.

"But I just felt so good the entire time," Bates said. "And I got to Mile 20 and was still in the lead, and I just looked at my coach, who was at Mile 20, and I was like, ‘I guess I’m in front,’ and so he said, ‘Just go for it, go for it.’"

Bates, 30, who finished second in Chicago in 2021, secured a qualifying time for the 2024 Paris Olympics — and bolstered her status as a top contender for next February's trials.

The top American male finisher was Scott Fauble, who came in seventh — for the third time in his last five Boston Marathons. Fauble, 31, finished in 2:09:44, 21 seconds behind the world-record holder Eliud Kipchoge, who came in sixth.

"I was focused on winning my group and trying to finish as high as possible," Fauble said. "I didn't realize it was Kipchoge until afterwards."

Jonathan Ellis contributed reporting from Boston.

Lauren McCarthy

The energy on Central Street in Wellesley is strong, particularly at the Mile 13 marker, where runners realize they’re now halfway done. Speakers blaring pop music line the streets, and spectators are stomping, clapping and dancing. Runners are raising their arms and bursting into smiles. Any sense of seriousness is gone — this is just fun.

Kris Rhim

By the 23-mile mark, the women's marathon was still anyone's race, as five runners jockeyed for position down the final stretch. They were so close that Ababel Yeshaneh fell after clipping another runner's foot.

Hellen Obiri, a 33-year-old Kenyan, led that group for most of the way, often checking around to see where her competitors were. She briefly fell behind the pack at points, but ultimately held the group off to win the women's race in 2 hours 21 minutes and 38 seconds.

Obiri, who was competing in just her second marathon, showed her speed with about a half-mile left in the race, pumping her arms hard and leaving the rest of the group behind her. Obiri finished sixth in the New York City Marathon last year, her only other race of this distance. She won the New York City Half Marathon on March 19.

After that race, Obiri moved to Boulder, Colo., with her husband, Tom Nyaundi, and their 7-year-old daughter, Tania, to train. Obiri said she was anxious about racing in Boston, unsure how she would match up with the talented field.

"It's a surprise to me," Obiri said with a smile, her daughter standing next to her. Obiri said her daughter motivates her, and often peppers her with questions like, "You can't be number one?"

"So I try to make them happy," Obiri said, "because sometimes I don't want to go, but something tells you to try to keep on fighting. So I kept on fighting."

Amane Beriso of Ethiopia finished second, and Lonah Salpeter of Israel finished third.

Yeshaneh, who finished second in this race last year, recovered from her fall and at moments looked as if she could win, but she faded away at the end, finishing fourth.

American Emma Bates, who was a part of the group at Mile 23, could not keep the pace at the end of the race, finishing in fifth place.

Scott Cacciola

Hellen Obiri gets a big hug from Dathan Ritzenhein, her coach, at the finish line.

Victor Mather

Hellen Obiri of Kenya, a two-time Olympic silver medalist on the track, powers away to win Boston in just her second marathon.

Victor Mather

Last mile! Hellen Obiri and Amane Beriso are 1-2.

Victor Mather

And now it's four as Emma Bates falls off the pace. A little more than a mile left.

Victor Mather

And now it's five. Ababel Yeshaneh has scrambled back up, but Joyciline Jepkosgei has fallen back.

Kris Rhim

When Eliud Kipchoge takes the course for any marathon, it typically turns into a race for second place.

But that trend shifted at Monday's Boston Marathon, as Kipchoge could not keep up with the pace in the pouring rain, and Evans Chebet pulled away to win his second straight Boston Marathon in 2 hours 5 minutes and 54 seconds.

Chebet, a 34-year-old Kenyan, is the first man to win the Boston Marathon in back-to-back years since Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot won three straight in 2006 to 2008. Chebet hinted at a three-peat after the win.

"I’m happy because I won last year and this year, so maybe next year I’ll come back again," he said. Chebet said his experience running the course last year gave him an advantage during Monday's rainy conditions. He was faster by nearly a full minute.

Chebet had been among a pack of eleven runners that Kipchoge seemed to be comfortably leading, until Gabriel Geay, who finished second led an aggressive move at the 19-mile mark, and the pack left Kipchoge behind them.

Chebet has won his last three marathons, also winning the New York City race last year.

It was a shocking upset for Kipchoge, the greatest marathon runner of all time, who finished in sixth place. Kipchoge's time was 2 hours 9 minutes and 23 seconds, his slowest marathon finish ever.

Kipchoge has only lost two marathons in 15 attempts, which includes 10 world marathon major wins. It was his first time running at the Boston Marathon on a day laden with rain and a course with a hilly terrain that forces many runners to struggle. Kipchoge's last marathon loss came at the 2020 London Marathon in similar rainy conditions.

Kipchoge, 38, has said that running all six major marathons is on his "bucket list." He now has just the New York City Marathon to check off his list, which will happen in November.

Victor Mather

Emma Bates, Hellen Obiri, Lonah Salpeter, Ababel Yeshaneh, Amane Beriso and Joyciline Jepkosgei are the six in front of the women's race now. Then Yeshaneh falls! She rushes to catch up. Two miles to go.

Ben Shpigel

The men's champion, Evans Chebet, averaged a mile in 4 minutes 48 seconds — giving hope to anyone on the Tumbleator who could not match Eliud Kipchoge's world-record pace.

Scott Cacciola

Eliud Kipchoge finishes sixth in 2:09:23, his poorest showing since he finished eighth at the 2020 London Marathon.

Victor Mather

The women hit 21 miles in a group of about eight. Lonah Salpeter, Emma Bates, Hiwot Gebremaryam and Hellen Obiri are prominent.

Victor Mather

Evans Chebet of Kenya wins back-to-back Boston Marathons, this time in 2 hours 5 minutes 54 seconds. Gabriel Geay of Tanzania is second, 10 seconds behind.

Victor Mather

In the last mile, Evans Chebet breaks away! The defending Boston and New York champ could be on the way to victory.

Victor Mather

The women reach 20 miles still in a pack of 11.

Victor Mather

Training partners Evans Chebet and Benson Kipruto, the two Kenyans considered most likely to win the race besides Kipchoge, are driving side-by-side with two miles to go. Gabriel Geay is trying to hang on.

Scott Cacciola

Eliud Kipchoge apparently missed one of his water bottles right before he fell back, but it might be too convenient to draw a connection between that and his late-race struggles.

Scott Cacciola

Don't count out Benson Kipruto. The 2021 champ has worked his way back up to Evans Chebet and Gabriel Geay, summoning a remarkable surge to remain in contention with less than two miles to run.

Victor Mather

The women's race still waits for its critical moment. The leaders have reached the 30-kilometer mark and remain in a pack of 11.

Ben Shpigel

The fastest finishers of the Boston Marathon this year will share in more than $1 million in prize money, with bonuses awarded to the winners who set course records in the open and wheelchair divisions.

In all, at least $876,500 will be distributed across the four divisions — open (elite), wheelchair, masters (over 40) and para. First-place finishers earn $150,000 in the open division, $25,000 in the wheelchair division, $5,000 in the masters division and $1,500 in each of five para designations.

Second-place finishers receive $75,000, $15,000, $2,500 and $750 in those respective categories.

By breaking his own course record by nearly a minute, Marcel Hug of Switzerland, the men's wheelchair champion, will receive an additional $50,000.

Victor Mather

Gabriel Geay puts in a surge, with only Evans Chebet sticking with him. We could be down to two.

Scott Cacciola

Emma Bates of the United States is right in the thick of the women's race at Mile 19. Earlier, she seemed in danger of falling off the lead pack. But she fought her way back and has remained at the front ever since.

Kylie Cooper

Scott Cacciola

The men's race has whittled to three athletes: Evans Chebet of Kenya, the defending champion; Benson Kipruto of Kenya, the 2021 champion; and Gabriel Geay of Tanzania, in search of his first marquee win. Chebet is out front by a few meters, but Kipruto and Geay are working to track his every move.

Victor Mather

Three men with a chance to win with 22 miles finished. Chebet has definitely been controlling things at the front.

Scott Cacciola

Eliud Kipchoge is now 51 seconds behind Evans Chebet, his fellow Kenyan. The Boston Marathon can humble even the most decorated champions.

Scott Cacciola

Though the ESPN broadcast may have vaguely suggested that Eliud Kipchoge might be dropping out, he's still running. His pace has slowed, though.

Scott Cacciola

Evans Chebet of Kenya, the defending men's champion, is making his own move now, putting distance between himself and Gabriel Geay. Chebet knows the course and knows what it takes to win here. Kipchoge is about 20 seconds behind.

Victor Mather

The surge by Chebet seems to have taken Andualem Belay out of it. Four men up front.

Scott Cacciola

A women's lead pack of 11, including Emma Bates of the United States, remains intact as they go through Mile 16 in 5 minutes 14 seconds.

Scott Cacciola

At Mile 19, the question is whether Eliud Kipchoge is conserving energy for the hills to come or if he's really struggling. But that gap is growing between him and the five leaders.

Victor Mather

Benson Kipruto, Gabriel Geay, Evans Chebet, John Korir and Andualem Belay are now together in front. And Eliud Kipchoige has been distanced by this group. What a shock.

Scott Cacciola

The first big move on the men's side, as Gabriel Geay of Tanzania makes a surge to separate himself. And in a huge surprise, Eliud Kipchoge is now struggling to stick with four others who are working to bridge the gap to Geay.

Victor Mather

Geay ran a blistering 2 hours 3 minutes in Valencia in December, but only ran second that day. Though he has been with the leaders in a number of big events, he lacks a marquee win.

Scott Cacciola

And some drama at the front of the women's race, as Celestine Chepchirchir of Kenya gets tripped up and tumbles. She scrambled her way back into the pack.

Victor Mather

Seven men lead the way: Eliud Kipchoge, Evans Chebet, John Korir, Albert Korir, Andualem Belay, Gabriel Geay and Benson Kipruto.

Scott Cacciola

And those lead men are about to hit the hills. Stay tuned.

Ben Shpigel

Susannah Scaroni of the United States added to her portfolio of major titles on Monday, sprinting away from a crowded field to win her first Boston Marathon women's wheelchair race.

Even after stopping early to repair a wheel, Scaroni encountered little resistance, finishing in an unofficial time of 1 hour, 41 minutes 45 seconds. She zipped past last year's winner, Manuela Schӓr of Switzerland, between the five- and 10-kilometer marks, and broke the tape with the pack trailing by roughly five minutes.

Scaroni, 31, who came in second in Boston last year, won the Chicago and New York City marathons in 2022.

Talya Minsberg and Scott Cacciola

Hellen Obiri has done just about everything in running.

Obiri, a 33-year-old Kenyan, has gone to three Olympics and won a medal in two of them. She is the only woman to have won world titles in indoor track, outdoor track and cross-country. She has won six of her eight half-marathons and finished on the podium in the others.

There are just a few items left on her checklist.

She would like to win Olympic gold and set a world record. Doing either in the marathon seems like a legitimate possibility, even if she has run the distance in elite competition only once.

"I think for the second one, I’ll know what I’m doing," Obiri said before announcing she would be running in this year's Boston Marathon, joining the fastest and most decorated lineup the race has had.

That calm confidence is sure to stoke fear in her competitors, despite the depth of the field. Of the women who will toe the starting line in suburban Hopkinton, Mass., 14 have run the marathon faster than 2 hours 21 minutes. Five have run under 2:18.

That's exactly why her coach, Dathan Ritzenhein, thought the race would be good for Obiri.

"She's just a good racer," Ritzenhein said. "She's best at competing."

In Boston, with a notoriously difficult and often slow course, she is going to have to keep herself in check, she said. "It's about patience in a marathon. I’ve got to focus on patience, patience, patience," she said, speaking like a student of the distance and an expert in the art of racing. "That's what I’m going to do in Boston."

Ben Shpigel

Marcel Hug of Switzerland dominated the Boston Marathon men's wheelchair race on Monday, leading by so much — and for so long — that he spent nearly all of it riding alone.

In winning the event for a sixth time, Hug crossed the finish line in an unofficial time of 1 hour, 17 minutes 6 seconds, smashing the course record he set in 2017 by nearly a minute.

Hug, 37, avenged last year's misfortune — citing illness, he withdrew less than an hour before the start — by completing the hilly course with his next closest competitors more than two miles behind him.

Nicknamed the "Silver Bullet" for the shiny helmet he wears, Hug led by 30 seconds after five kilometers — and by more than four minutes at the halfway point. He kept going and going, all the way to a grueling, glorious end.

Matthew Futterman

Eliud Kipchoge is marathon running's ultimate speed demon.

Even at 38 years old, he still wins nearly every time he races. His win in Berlin last year made him 17 for 19. The technical term for that is "bananas."

He breaks his own world record over and over. It's now down to 2 hours, 1 minute and 9 seconds.

He is the only human (as far as we know) to have run 26.2 miles in less than two hours, finishing a course in Vienna designed to optimize speed, with a pace team taking turns blocking the wind, in 1 hour 59 minutes 40 seconds. That is an average pace of 4 minutes 34.5 seconds for a 26.2-mile race.

But Kipchoge is confronting a new challenge as he tries to win the Boston Marathon, a historic, hilly beast of a course where tactics usually trump speed. Boston could not be more different from the mostly flat marathons in Berlin and London, races that can resemble time trials.

Even he doesn't know how his body will react, or if he will be able to continue the magic. But Boston is the oldest continuously run marathon, a race that Kipchoge said was on his bucket list for a while. He especially wanted to run on the 10th anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombing, "to spread the word of positivity, the human family," he said, even if he is feeling unsettled ahead of the competition in a way he is not used to feeling.

"I don't know what will happen at 10, 15, 25 kilometers," he said during an interview last month from Kenya, where he was training. "It's a huge experience and a different experience than many other marathons. That's what makes me nervous."

Scott Cacciola

Pick a favorite, any favorite. Could the women's champion be Amane Beriso of Ethiopia, who won the Valencia Marathon in December by running a personal best of 2:14:58, the third-fastest marathon time in history?

Or perhaps it will be Hellen Obiri of Kenya, a track legend who feels that she learned a great deal from her marathon debut last fall, when she finished sixth in New York. Then again, maybe the winner will be one of six women in the field who already have world marathon majors. Among them: Joyciline Jepkosgei of Kenya, who won in New York in 2019 and in London in 2021; Lonah Salpeter of Israel, who won in Tokyo in 2020; and Gotytom Gebreslase of Ethiopia, the 2021 Berlin champion who went on to win gold at last year's world championships.

There are sentimental favorites, too, starting with Edna Kiplagat of Kenya, who, on Thursday, was honored as the 2021 champion after the original winner, Diana Kipyokei, was disqualified for doping. (A two-time champion, Kiplagat, 43, won the race outright in 2017.) And there is the crowd favorite Des Linden, an American who won the race in 2018 by persevering in horrendous conditions.

Peres Jepchirchir of Kenya opted to enter the London Marathon later this month rather than defend her title in Boston.

Buzunesh Deba of Ethiopia set the course record of 2:19:59 in 2014.

Scott Cacciola

At a premarathon news conference last week, Eliud Kipchoge, the greatest marathoner in the history of the sport and the men's world-record holder, happened to be seated between two of his fellow Kenyans: Evans Chebet, who won in Boston last year, and Benson Kipruto, the 2021 champion. Chebet and Kipruto are training partners, and Kipruto was blunt when he was asked how he and Chebet would tackle the course: by working together, as teammates.

An amused murmur rippled through the conference room, and Kipchoge smiled as if to say, "Bring it on!"

The elite men's field for Monday's Boston Marathon is absolutely loaded. What more can be said about Kipchoge, the two-time Olympic gold medalist who has accomplished nearly everything in the sport? This will be his first time racing in Boston, and he said he was looking forward to the challenge. Since arriving last week, he has been treated like royalty and posed for dozens of selfies with runners who have spotted him training along the Charles River.

Chebet, who followed up his victory in Boston last year by winning in New York in November, figures to offer stiff competition. And Kipruto, who finished third in Boston last year, also has the advantage of being familiar with the course's brutal hills.

Seldom, if ever, has there been a deeper field, but breaking the course record (2 hours 3 minutes 2 seconds) might be a hard task. Geoffrey Mutai, another Kenyan, set that mark in 2011 when the field was pushed along by a huge tailwind.

Scott Fauble is back after finishing as the top American last year at seventh.

The New York Times

As runners got ready in Hopkinton, Mass., officials readied the finish line in Boston.