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The Boston Marathon may be the most prestigious, sacred, and all-around Greatest Footrace in the World. But, despite inviting only the fastest marathoners to its hallowed roads, it’s not a fast race. No pacemakers, a particularly tricky course, and manic New England spring weather often lead to downright pedestrian times taking home the trophy and the sizable prize purses that come along with it. But for Boston standards, the 129th Boston Marathon was fast—historically fast.
Near-perfect weather set the stage for what could be a perfect day. And aggressive racing in both stacked elite fields delivered. Sharon Lokedi (Kenya) smashed the 11-year-old women’s course record by a staggering two minutes, running two hours, 17 minutes, and 22 seconds. That’s an average of just under 5 minutes and 15 seconds per mile.
She’ll go home $200,000 richer thanks to $150,000 for the win and another $50,000 for the course record bonus. (And that doesn’t include her undisclosed but hefty appearance fee.)
Lokedi, 31, who trains in Flagstaff, Arizona, triumphed over compatriot and friend Hellen Obiri, who was gunning for a third-consecutive win. She threw down a final 5:04 mile to drop Obiri by 19 seconds. Obiri also finished under the course record and in a personal best time by four minutes.
The day did not start auspiciously for John Korir (Kenya), who fell near the start and lost his bib. But the 28-year-old recovered the bib and also his mojo, ripping the field apart through the infamous Newton Hills in miles 20 and 21 with back-to-back miles in the low 4:40s. Korir hung on coming into town to break the tape in 2:04:45 (4:45 per mile pace), the fastest winning time since 2011. He joins his brother Wesley, the 2012 Boston champ, to become the first siblings to win the world’s most iconic footrace.
American Conner Mantz went for broke, pushing the pace throughout and clinging on to the chase pack of Alphonce Simbu and CyBrian Kotut as the trio turned left on Harford and right on Boylston in a sprint finish. He didn’t quite have enough kick left to fight his way onto the podium. But his fourth-place finish of 2:05:04 was a PR by over two minutes and a definitive statement that the 28-year-old from Utah is here to compete on the world stage.
Meanwhile, 2018 champ Des Linden announced she was stepping off said stage and finished what would be her last Boston Marathon in 17th place. Here’s what else you need to know about the 2025 Boston Marathon.
1. For Sharon Lokedi, too fast is actually not too fast.
Lokedi panicked when she looked at her watch at the halfway mark.
“I think we came through the half in 68, and I was like, ‘Jesus that’s so fast!’ We haven’t even hit the hills yet!” she said at the finish line.
But that anxiety was quickly overruled by her desire to finally beat her friend, compatriot, and two-time defending champion Hellen Obiri.
“I’m always second to her,” she said. “And today I was like, ‘No way.’”
For much of the 26.2 miles it looked like it would once again be Obiri’s day. Those accustomed to her flailing stride know that if she’s in the mix once the finish line comes into sight, her lethal kick—a remnant from her decorated career on the track—can essentially not be beat.
Lokedi certainly knew that as the duo, with Yalemzerf Yehualaw (Ethiopia) just behind, reached Brookline with three miles to go. Lokedi attacked and attacked, each time Obiri matched the move as she nipped at her heels. At one point an exasperated Lokedi looked back and stuck her hand out, her body language yelling: You take the lead for once.
Obiri never did. Dropping a final 5:04 mile, Lokedi finally pulled away from the reigning queen of Titletown on the downhill heading into the final underpass before making that final left on Haverford and right on Boylston. Obiri just had enough to defend her position in second from Yehualaw, whose third-place time of 2:18:06 was also under the previous course record of 2:19:59 set back in 2014.
Why did they run so fast? Near-perfect weather with temperatures staying in the low 50s, only a slight headwind, and crazy advances in shoe technology and nutrition certainly all came into play. But perhaps the biggest underrated variable is simply the power of head-to-head racing. Lokedi didn’t have much time to freak out about the fast first half, she had a race to run.
“It was tough and I toughened it out,” Lokedi said. “I just wanted to give it my best and fight to the end.”
2. John Korir is the best marathoner in the world right now.
John Korir won the 2025 Boston Marathon with a time of 02:04:45 – the second-fastest on the course. (Photo: Getty)
That early fall led to some scrapes on Korir’s leg and hands. It affected him physically, he said, but it didn’t impact him mentally. Apparently that was good enough.
Propelled by his 4:41 20th mile, Korir smashed the lead pack to pieces and soloed off the front to the finish. His first win in Boston comes just six months after his convincing victory at the Chicago Marathon in October. That 2:04:44 breakout win put him sixth on the world all-time list. Now, we’ve got to put him in the running for the current best marathoner on the planet.
“I was ready to win Boston. I had trained for it,” Korir said at the finish line. “I had promised [my brother] that I was going to win.”
At the very least, one bragging right can’t be up for dispute. Korir’s winning time of 2:04:45 demolished his brother’s mark by nearly eight minutes.
“I am the fastest in the family,” he joked.
3. The 2025 Boston Marathon was the fastest elite race ever.
The 2025 race had the fastest average top 15 men’s and women’s fields in history, with average times of 2:07:25 and 2:22:34, respectively. For reference, fourth-place Mantz’s PR coming into today was 2:07:47, and two-defending champion Obiri’s was 2:21:38. (And remember: Boston is not a fast course! But because it’s point-to-point it’s also not record-eligible.)
On the men’s side, the second-fastest day came in 2011 when Geoffrey Mutai set the course record of 2:03:02. (That day produced a 2:08:21 average for the top 15 men.) Similarly in the women’s race, today produced the fastest average top 15 by over a minute compared to runner-up 2023 (2:23:39).
Men Ranking Year Average Top 15 1 2025 2:07:25 2 2011 2:08:21 3 2022 2:08:59 4 2023 2:09:16 5 2024 2:09:45 Women Ranking Year Average Top 15 1 2025 2:22:34 2 2023 2:23:39 3 2014 2:24:48 4 2024 2:25:11 5 2022 2:25:13 
4. Ed Eyestone is the greatest distance coach right now, maybe.
With his fourth-place finish in 2:05:04, Conner Mantz comes achingly close to the seemingly untouchable American record of 2:04:58, set by Ryan Hall at none other than the 2011 Boston Marathon. (Which, yes, technically makes that performance not record-eligible.)
It’s only a matter of time before he’s vying for a title of his own. And not far behind him are training partners Rory Linkletter and Clayton Young, who finished 6-7 in 2:07:02 and 2:07:04, respectively.
They’re all coached by Ed Eyestone, a two-time Olympian in the marathon who started shepherding the trio when they ran for him at BYU. Eyestone’s ingenuity has yet to materialize on the women’s side—Keira D’Amato, the former American record holder who joined Eyestone’s training group in Utah last year, finished a disappointing 35th in 2:35:57. But when it comes to men’s distance running all eyes are on Eyestone.
5. Des Linden goes out on top.
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Bostonians woke up to a Boston Globe plastered with news of Pope Francis’s passing. A passing of the torch was also found in the sport’s section, where Des Linden, the 2018 champion in frigid monsoon-like conditions, had taken out a full-page ad.
The ad, styled as a love-letter to Boston, announced that her 12th Boston Marathon would be her last.
“People say you should go out on top, and that’s what I’m doing,” she wrote. “Because choosing to race my final professional marathon in Boston is indeed going out on top. I hope you enjoy one last show.”
Linden, 41, finished in 2:26:19 for 17th place in her final showing, capping a remarkably consistent legacy here and a remarkable career that, in addition to her 2018 win, includes two Olympic berths.
“I’ve been finishing these races well. But the sport’s moved on,” she said at the finish. “It’s so much work to finish 18th, 20th. I need to step out of that and stop going through the motions. Putting the pressure on and saying, ‘This is it, this is the last one, let’s see what you’ve got,’ I think that made today go the way it did, I’m super happy with it, but I wasn’t sniffing the front.”
This isn’t the last we’ll see of Linden—she’s eyeing ultras next. But today marks a ceremonial passing of the baton to a generation she inspired, with Jess McClain taking home top American honors in a massive PR of 2:22:43 for 7th, followed by Annie Frisbie (U.S.) in 2:23:21 for 8th.
6. If you want to watch Boston, go to Boston.
ESPN took over the American broadcast this year, and apparently it decided to reinvent the wheel by unlearning everything about marathon coverage. Televising a world marathon major, which also includes the elite men’s and women’s wheelchair races, is no easy feat. (Those were won today in commanding fashion by the Silver Bullet Marcel Hug of Switzerland, his eighth, and Susannah Scaroni of the U.S.) But over the years we’ve learned there are simple measures that can be taken to show all races comprehensively and equally—split screens and, gasp, actually showing the race are a good start.
ESPN decided to do very little of both. Viewers were treated to copious pre-produced segments and talking head coverage with the race (or really, four races) nowhere to be seen. Key moves were missed and never mentioned by race commentators, wide camera angles made it difficult to discern who was on the screen and how big the gaps were, and minimal graphics essentially forced committed viewers to pull up the livetracker to have any clue what was going on.
“Please just focus on the elite races and don’t do a bunch of human-interest stories,” one frustrated viewer vented on Reddit. “I beg you ESPN. Most of the people tuning in just want to see racing.”
The botched TV coverage did a disservice to the unmatched energy of the Boston Marathon, leaving irked viewers with just one option:
To watch the Boston Marathon, the only solution, perhaps, is to go to the Boston Marathon.
The 2025 Boston Marathon signifies a passing of the torch in American distance running, with Des Linden announcing the morning of the race that this would be her last professional marathon. She’s seen at the finish with top Americans Jess McClain (7th), Annie Frisbie (8th), Emma Bates (13th), and Sara Hall (18th). (Photo: Andy Cochrane)
2025 Boston Marathon Results
Men Women 1. John Korir – 02:04:45 Sharon Lokedi – 02:17:22 2. Alphonce Felix Simbu – 02:05:04 Hellen Obiri – 02:17:41 3. Cybrian Kotut – 02:05:04 Yalemzerf Yehualaw – 02:18:06 4. Conner Mantz – 02:05:08 Irine Cheptai – 02:21:32 5. Muktar Edris – 02:05:59 Amane Beriso – 02:21:58 6. Rory Linkletter – 02:07:02 Calli Thackery – 02:22:38 7. Clayton Young – 02:07:04 Jess Mcclain – 02:22:43 8. Tebello Ramakongoana – 02:07:19 Annie Frisbie – 02:23:21 9. Daniel Mateiko – 02:07:52 Stacy Ndiwa – 02:23:29 10. Ryan Ford – 02:08:00 Tsige Haileslase – 02:23:43 11. Patrick Tiernan – 02:08:08 Mary Ngugi – 02:24:39 12. Wesley Kiptoo – 02:08:54 Cynthia Limo – 02:24:43 13. Victor Kiplangat – 02:10:13 Emma Bates – 02:25:10 14. Cj Albertson – 02:10:16 Viola Cheptoo – 02:25:23 15. Erenjia Jia – 02:10:22 Buze Diriba – 02:25:59
