The Boston Marathon Fact Sheet
A guide to the
world's most celebrated road race
by
Erin Teare Martin and Mike Morrison
What | 115th Boston Marathon
Where |
From Hopkinton, MA, to Boston (26.2 miles)
When |
Monday, April 18, 2011 race begins at 10:00 A.M., with earlier starts for wheelchair (9:17 A.M.), handcycle (9:22 A.M.), and elite
women (9:32 A.M.). This year, there will be three waves releasing the rest of the field, at 10:00 A.M., 10:20 A.M., and 10:40 A.M..
Who
| The field consists of over 26,000 runners, representing athletes from every
state in the nation and over 90 countries. The race record was 38,708 for
the 100th anniversary in 1996. There will also be well over a half-million
spectators lining the course.
2010 Winners
Men's
Open:
Robert Kiprono Cheruiyot (Kenya), 2:05:52
Women's Open:
Teyba Erkesso (Ethiopia), 2:26:11
Men's Masters:
James Koskei (Kenya), 2:17:28
Women's Masters:
Denise C. Robson (Canada), 2:43:16
Men's Push Rim
Wheelchair:
Ernst Van Dyk (South Africa), 1:26:53
Women's Push Rim Wheelchair:
Wakako Tsuchida (Japan), 1:43:32
2009 Winners
Men's
Open:
Deriba Merga (Ethiopia), 2:08:42
Women's Open:
Salina Kosgei (Kenya), 2:32:16
Men's Masters:
James Koskei (Kenya), 2:14:52
Women's Masters:
Colleen De Reuck (USA), 2:35:37
Men's Push Rim
Wheelchair:
Ernst Van Dyk (South Africa), 1:33:29
Women's Push Rim Wheelchair:
Wakako Tsuchida (Japan), 1:54:37
2008 Winners
Men's
Open:
Robert K. Cheruiyot (Kenya),
2:07:46
Women's Open:
Dire Tune
(Ethiopia), 2:25:25
Men's Masters:
Gino S. Van Geyte (Belgium), 2:23:36
Women's Masters:
Firaya Sultanova-Zhdanova (United States), 2:47:17
Men's Push Rim
Wheelchair:
Ernst F. Van Dyk (RSA),
1:26:49
Women's Push Rim Wheelchair:
Wakako
Tsuchida (Japan), 1:48:32
2007 Winners
Men's
Open:
Robert K. Cheruiyot (Kenya),
2:14:13
Women's Open:
Lidiya Grigoryeva
(Russia), 2:29:18
Men's Masters:
Oleg
Strizhakov (Russia), 2:28:55
Women's Masters:
Heidy
Lozano (United States), 2:56:03
Men's Push Rim
Wheelchair:
Masazumi Soejima (Japan),
1:29:16
Women's Push Rim Wheelchair:
Wakako
Tsuchida (Japan), 1:53:30
Marathon Facts
The Boston Marathon, organized by the Boston
Athletic Association, is the world's oldest marathon. It takes place on the
third Monday in April, also known as Patriot's Day, which is a
holiday (in Maine and Massachusetts) that commemorates the famous battles of Lexington and Concord.
$806,000 in prize money is up for grabs in 2011.
In terms of media
coverage, the Boston Marathon is the second biggest single-day sporting
event in the U.S., just behind the Super Bowl. 500,000 spectators are
expected to line the course in 2011. (This former runner would like to give
a special thanks to the women of Wellesley College, who come out in full
force every year to cheer on the participants.)
In 1988,
Ibrahim Hussein became the first black male to win at Boston.
Former
Massachusetts Governor and presidential candidate Mike Dukakis finished 57th (3:31) as a high
school student in 1951.
In 1975, Boston became the first major marathon to
include a wheelchair division.
In 2007, the marathon initiated a wave start, with one group of runners going off at 10:00 A.M. and
a second group starting a half an hour later.
In 2009, the top three elite women finishers were separated only by nine hundredths of a second.
In 2011, the word on iPods is, while their use is not encouraged, only elite men and women and those eligible for prize money are not allowed to use headphones.
Course Records
Men's Open:
Robert K. Cheruiyot (Kenya), 2:07:14,
2006
Women's Open:
Margaret Okayo (Kenya),
2:20:43, 2002
Men's Masters:
John Campbell
(New Zealand), 2:11:04, 1990
Women's Masters:
Firaya Sultanova-Zhdanova (Russia), 2:27:58, 2002
Men's
Wheelchair:
Ernst Van Dyk (South Africa), 1:18:27, 2004
Women's Wheelchair:
Jean Driscoll (United States),
1:34:22, 1994
Information Please® Database, © 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
