BOSTON (AP) 鈥� Maybe the Boston Marathon isn鈥檛 that hard after all.
After a second straight year of blistering times, a course record on the men鈥檚 side, and a pair of repeat winners, back-to-back champion Sharon Lokedi said it won鈥檛 be the last time that runners ignore the hype and the hills and attack the historic Boston course.
鈥淗onestly, it is hard,鈥� she insisted Tuesday, a day after running the second-fastest time ever in the women鈥檚 race to win for the second year in a row. 鈥淏ut I think it鈥檚 also people are starting to realize that if (you get good conditions), it just makes for a really good day. And even, you know, a fast one.鈥�
Defending men’s champion John Korir took advantage of cool weather and a tailwind on Monday to outrun the strongest field in race history and 2 hours, 1 minute, 52 seconds. That was 70 seconds faster than Geoffrey Mutai鈥檚 then-world best in 2011, and the fifth-fastest marathon of all time.
Korir, who ran alone for the last 5 miles, said Tuesday that he could have gone even faster if another runner had been out front with him.
鈥淚 think we will run even under 2:01,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ecause if someone were to push me, we would have tried to run away from each other, and that is why I think it will be faster.鈥�
With its hills and unpredictable weather, Boston has always been known as a course that rewards strategy more than outright footspeed. Eliud Kipchoge, the world record holder at the time and considered the greatest marathoner ever, , in 2023; Korir鈥檚 brother, Wesley, won Boston in 2012 on a hot day with a time that was 10 minutes slower than John ran on Monday.
鈥淚n Boston, I don鈥檛 care that much about the time,鈥� John Korir said Tuesday. 鈥淏ut now I think from today I will be caring about the times when I come back.鈥�
Lokedi, who lowered the women鈥檚 course record by more than 2 1/2 minutes last year, 鈥� the second-fastest time ever in the Boston women鈥檚 race. Runner-up Loice Chemnung was 44 seconds back 鈥� a performance that would have been a course record before Lokedi鈥檚 2:17:22 last year.
The top three men all finished faster than Mutai鈥檚 2:03:02.
Runners looking for fast times will likely still prefer the flatter courses in Chicago and Berlin. (Kelvin Kiptum ran 2:00:35 in Chicago in 2023 and Ruth Chepngetich set the women鈥檚 mark there at 2:09:56 in 鈥�24.)
Still, the assault on the record books may encourage future Boston runners to go for it.
鈥淵ou put it in your head, 鈥極h, it鈥檚 going to be hard, it鈥檚 going to hard,鈥� and then you come in here and you have everything that you need: You get really good competitors, you have people that want to push, and people that want to race, and you get good conditions,鈥� Lokedi said. 鈥淎nd it just makes it for a really good day and even, you know, a fast one.鈥�
Korir, who dedicated to the Transcend Talent Academy in his native Kenya, said the school will again get 10% or his winnings, which this year include a $50,000 bonus for the course record. Korir said he received videos of the students cheering him on.
鈥�(It鈥檚) to help them to go to school, and study, and have a better future,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd one day, one time to become a champion like me.鈥�
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