The Boston Marathon is an annual marathon race hosted by several cities and towns in greater Boston in eastern Massachusetts, United States. It is traditionally held on Patriots' Day, the third Monday of April. Begun in 1897, the event was inspired by the success of the first marathon competition in the 1896 Summer Olympics. The Boston Marathon is the world's oldest annual marathon and ranks as one of the world's best-known road racing events. It is one of six World Marathon Majors. Its course runs from Hopkinton in southern Middlesex County to Copley Square in Boston.
The New York City Marathon is an annual marathon that courses through the five boroughs of New York City. It is the largest marathon in the world, with 53,627 finishers in 2019 and 98,247 applicants for the 2017 race. Along with the Boston Marathon and Chicago Marathon, it is among the pre-eminent long-distance annual running events in the United States and is one of the World Marathon Majors.
Edna Ngeringwony Kiplagat is a Kenyan professional long-distance runner. She was the 2011 and 2013 IAAF World Champion in the marathon. She established herself as an elite marathon runner with wins at the Los Angeles and New York City Marathons in 2010. Her personal best for the distance is 2:19:50 hours, set at the London Marathon in 2012. At age 37, Kiplagat won the 2017 Boston Marathon in a time of 2:21:52 hours, and won the marathon silver medal at the IAAF World Championships in London. At age 39, she was second at the 2019 Boston Marathon and fourth in the event at the following World Championships. At age 41, she won the 2021 Bix 7 road race, the Falmouth Road Race, and was second again at the Boston Marathon. She is to be promoted to the winner of the latter after Diana Kipyokei was disqualified for the use of performance enhancing steroids.
Mary Jepkosgei Keitany is a Kenyan former professional long distance runner. She is the world record holder in a women-only marathon, having won the 2017 London Marathon in a time of 2:17:01. As of November 2022, she placed fifth on the world all-time list at the marathon and eleventh on the respective world all-time list for the half marathon.
Tatyana McFadden is an American Paralympic athlete of Russian descent competing in the category T54. McFadden has won twenty Paralympic medals in multiple Summer Paralympic Games.
Emmanuel Kipchirchir Mutai is a long distance runner from Kenya, who specialises in marathons. He is now the joint 6th fastest man ever over the 42.195 km distance.
Geoffrey Kiprono Mutai is a Kenyan long distance runner who specialises in road running competitions. On 18 April 2011 at the Boston Marathon, Mutai ran the fastest marathon ever at the time in a time of 2 hours 3 minutes 2 seconds, though the time was not recognised by the International Association of Athletics Federations as a world record since the Boston course does not meet the criteria to be eligible for the mark.
Priscah Jeptoo is a Kenyan professional long-distance runner who specialises in the marathon. She has won marathons in New York, Paris, Turin, and London and has a best time of 2:20:14 for the distance. She was the runner-up in the marathon at both the World Championships in Athletics in 2011 and the 2012 London Olympics. She ranks third all-time over the half marathon distance with her best of 66 minutes and 11 seconds.
The women's marathon at the 2012 Olympic Games in London was held on the Olympic marathon street course on 5 August.
The Women's marathon at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics was held starting and finishing at Gukchae – bosang Memorial Park on 27 August. A total of 54 runners began the race and twenty three nations were represented.
The 2012 Boston Marathon took place in Boston, Massachusetts on Monday April 16, 2012. It was the 116th edition of the mass-participation marathon. Organized by the Boston Athletic Association, it was the first of the World Marathon Majors series to be held in 2012. A total of 22,426 runners started the race. The competition was held in hot running conditions, reaching 88 degrees Fahrenheit that afternoon, and some of the 27,000 registered runners opted to take up the organizers' offer to defer their entry until the 2013 race.
The 2012 Chicago Marathon was the 35th edition of the annual marathon race in Chicago, Illinois and was held on Sunday, October 7. An IAAF Gold Label Road Race, it was the fourth and final World Marathon Majors event to be held that year. Tsegaye Kebede won the men's race in a course record of 2:04:38 hours and Atsede Baysa was the women's winner in a personal best of 2:22:03. A total of 37455 runners finished the race.
The 2013 Boston Marathon was the 117th running of the annual marathon race in Boston, United States, which took place on April 15, 2013. Organized by the Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.), it hosted the second of the World Marathon Majors to be held in 2013 with over 23,000 runners participating. Lelisa Desisa won the men's race with a time of 2:10:22, and Rita Jeptoo won the women's with a time of 2:26:25. Hiroyuki Yamamoto won the men's wheelchair race in 1:25:32 and Tatyana McFadden won the women's in 1:45:25.
The 2013 London Marathon was the 33rd running of the annual marathon race in London, England, which took place on Sunday, 21 April. The men's elite race was won by Ethiopia's Tsegaye Kebede and the women's race was won by Kenyan Priscah Jeptoo. Australian Kurt Fearnley won the men's wheelchair race, while American Tatyana McFadden won the women's wheelchair race with a new course record of 1:46:02.
The 2014 London Marathon was the 34th running of the annual marathon race in London, England, which took place on Sunday, 13 April. The men's elite race was won by Kenyan Wilson Kipsang Kiprotich and the women's race was won by Kenyan Edna Kiplagat. The men's wheelchair race was won by Switzerland's Marcel Hug and the women's wheelchair race was won by American Tatyana McFadden. Kipsang and McFadden set course records.
The 2015 Boston Marathon was the 119th running of the Boston Athletic Association's mass-participation marathon. It took place on Monday, April 20. The men's race was won by Lelisa Desisa from Ethiopia in a time of 2:09:17. Caroline Rotich of Kenya won the women's race with a time 2:24:55.
The 2015 New York City Marathon was the 45th running of the annual marathon race in New York City, United States, which took place on November 1. The event was organised by the New York Road Runners and sponsored by Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). The main race saw the third successive time that Kenyans won both races. Stanley Biwott won the men's division with a time of 2:10:34. His compatriot Mary Jepkosgei Keitany claimed the women's division with a time of 2:24:25, her second consecutive win in New York. In the wheelchair divisions, South African Ernst van Dyk won the men's division with a time of 1:30:54 and American Tatyana McFadden won the women's division with a new record of 1:43:04.
The 2019 New York City Marathon was the 49th running of the annual marathon race held in New York City, United States, which took place on November 3, 2019. The men's race was won by Kenyan Geoffrey Kamworor in a time of 2:08:13. The women's race was won in 2:22:38 by Kenyan Joyciline Jepkosgei, making her official debut at the distance. The men and women's wheelchair races, were won by American Daniel Romanchuk (1:37:24) and Switzerland's Manuela Schär (1:44:20), respectively. A total of 53,508 runners finished the race, comprising 30,794 men and 22,714 women.
Serkalem Biset Abrha, also known as Abrha Serkalem Biset, is a runner from Ethiopia who competes in long distance running and has won several major international marathons.
