1971 Boston Marathon

1971 Boston Marathon
Venue	Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Date	April 19, 1971
Competitors	887
Champions
Men	Álvaro Mejía (2:18:45)
Women	Sara Mae Berman (3:08:30)
←  1970 1972 →

The 1971 Boston Marathon took place on Monday, April 19, 1971. It was the 75th time the Boston Marathon was organized and featured 1,067 official entrants, ^[1] with 887 runners starting the event. ^[2]

The race was won by Álvaro Mejía of Colombia in 2:18:45, finishing five seconds ahead of Pat McMahon of Ireland. ^[1] The pair ran the final 15 miles (24 km) together, in what was described as "the most dramatic race in the 75-year history" of the event. ^[1] It also set a mark for the narrowest margin of victory, which had previously been six seconds set during the 1906 edition. ^[1]

Results

Men

Position	Athlete	Nationality	Time
1	Álvaro Mejía	Colombia	2:18:45
2	Pat McMahon	Ireland	2:18:50
3	John Halberstadt	South Africa	2:22:23
4	John Vitale	United States	2:22:45
5	Byron Lowry	United States	2:23:20
6	Arthur Coolidge	United States	2:23:23
7	William Speck	United States	2:23:54
8	Markku Salminen	Finland	2:24:02
9	Ron Wallingford	Canada	2:25:21
10	William Clark	United States	2:26:19

Other notable participants included Amby Burfoot (39th) and John J. Kelley (96th).

Source: ^{[3] [4]}

Women

Women were not officially allowed to enter until 1972, but their first-place results from 1966 through 1971 were later ratified by the Boston Athletic Association. ^[5] Sara Mae Berman, originally from The Bronx in New York City, finished first among women runners, credited with a time of 3:08:30. ^[6] Berman is also recognized as the 1969 and 1970 women's champion. ^[6]

References

1. Craig, Jack (April 19, 1971). "Colombian Mejia BAA Winner". The Boston Globe . p. 1. Retrieved April 27, 2025– via newspapers.com.
2. Nason, Jerry (April 20, 1971). "McMahon lives out nightmare, loses at wire". The Boston Globe . p. 29. Retrieved April 27, 2025– via newspapers.com.
3. "Boston Marathon Historical Results" (PDF). baa.org. Boston Athletic Association . Retrieved April 27, 2025.
4. "Top marathon finishers". The Boston Globe . April 20, 1971. p. 29. Retrieved April 27, 2025– via newspapers.com.
5. "Worth the wait". The Boston Globe . April 13, 1996. p. 77. Retrieved April 27, 2025– via newspapers.com.
6. "Champions Of The Boston Marathon". baa.org. Boston Athletic Association . Retrieved April 27, 2025.