The Boston Marathon Fact Sheet
A guide to the
world's most celebrated road race
by
Erin Teare Martin and Mike Morrison
What | 113th Boston Marathon
Where |
From Hopkinton, MA, to Boston (26.2 miles)
When |
Monday, April 20, 2009, race begins at 10:00 A.M.; elite
women runners and wheelchair competitors begin earlier.
Who
| Approximately 20,000 runners, representing runners from every
state in the nation and over 50 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.
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
2006 Winners
Men's
Open:
Robert K. Cheruiyot (Kenya), 2:07:14
Women's Open:
Rita Jeptoo (Kenya), 2:23:38
Men's Masters:
Sammy Nyangincha (Kenya),
2:26:37
Women's Masters:
Madina Biktagirova
(Russia), 2:30:06
Men's Push Rim Wheelchair:
Ernst Van Dyk (South Africa), 1:25:29
Women's Push Rim
Wheelchair:
Edith Hunkeler (Switzerland), 1:47:45
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.
$575,000 in prize money is up for grabs in 2008.
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 2007. (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.)
The 2000 Boston
Marathon was the closest in the race's history. Kenya's Elijah Lagat and
Ethiopian star Gezahenge Abera sprinted to the finish, with Lagat
prevailing. The two actually recorded the same exact time (2:09:47) while
Kenyan Moses Tanui followed just three seconds behind.
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 will start in
waves, with one group of runners going off at 10:00 A.M. and
a second group starting a half an hour later.
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.
