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The 123rd Running of the Boston Marathon - The Men's Race
by John Elliott
Weather - Again a Story?
The Boston Marathon is not usually known as one of the fastest, and without time bonuses or pacemakers it is generally a strategic race. The course often attracts the toughest runners and sometimes favors those athletes, as was the case in 2018 when there was near-freezing temperatures, torrential rains and a strong headwind. In other years, there can be a tailwind and the course can propel runners to amzaing personal best finishes, as was the case in 2011 when strong tailwinds pushed four runners to run sub-2:05 on the course. The days leading to the race through race day hit all extremes: on the Thursday before race day, organizers were considering canceling due to weather and made a preemptory call to combine the third and fourth waves to reduce the time runners would be waiting to start. But by race day, the rain was light and there was a decent tailwind.
Speed Takes the Day
John Hancock which puts together the Elite fields for the Boston Marathon went out of its way to bring in one of the fastest fields ever assembled. In the 2019 field were five men with personal best times of sub-2:05. Often that doesn't matter on the Boston course, but for 2019 it did. In both the men's and women's races, it was the man or woman with the fastest time who ultimately would be the winner.
Jared Ward Leads Early On
photo credit: Victah Sailer/PhotoRun/td>
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The Race Plays Out
From the start of the race, the men were running at a fast pace - running toward a 2:08-2:09 pace. That is fast for Boston... What made the 2019 race especially different is that at the halfway mark there were still 22 men running at that pace in the lead pack, half of whom had run a similar time at another race in their life and half who had never run that fast and should not have been trying. A tailwind did help bring some of those runners along at that pace and gave them the courage to try to run that fast - for some it brought them to a personal best, but for some it would be a mistake to try. At times various men would push the pace, including Jared Ward; but the incredible thing was the number of men and the size of the pack.
By 18 miles, 14 men were still in the lead pack. By 20 miles, 11 men were still in the lead pack. By 21 miles 8 men were remained in the lead pack. By mile 23, three men were running together - three who had all run sub-2:06 within the prior year.
The Final Sprint
photo credit: Victah Sailer/PhotoRun |
Three Fast Men
Often at Boston, one man will run away from the others, but that was not the case for 2019. Three men, all evenly matched ran togehter: Lawrence Cherono, the fastest in the race who had run a 2:04:06 to win the 2018 Amsterdam Marathon; Lelisa Desisa, who had twice previously won the Boston Marathon and had recently run 2:05:59 to win the 2018 New York City Marathon; and Kenneth Kipkemoi who had run 2:05:44 to win the 2018 Rotterdam Marathon.
Having won the 2013 and 2015 Boston Marathons and finishing as runner-up in 2016, Desisa knew the course the best of all the men. He started his sprint earlier than any had ever - on Hereford Street, just before the left turn onto Boylston Street. Kipkemoi was left behind, but Cherono gave chase. For much of the nearly half mile down Boylston Street, it looked like Desisa would win.
The Finish
photo credit: Victah Sailer/PhotoRun |
But in the final steps it seemed that Desisa lost his will and paused and Lawrence Cherono ran through the finish victorious.
After the race, Desisa told us that he was most afraid of Geoffrey Kirui in the race, the man who won in 2017 and was runner-up in 2018. But it was a different Kenyan who would relegate the Ethiopian two-time champion to his second runner-up finish.
The Americans
As much as we appreciate the overall race, we also feel that there is a race within the race. We are continually wishing to compare the best Americans against each other and it is seldom that they appear in the same marathon before the Olympic Trials come around. In the Boston Marathon were perhaps eight of whom we would consider the top ten of the current crop of American male marathoners. Who would prevail at Boston would give us a glimpse of what we could look forward to a year later at the Olympic Trials Marathon in Atlanta. A glimpse at the results below will let you sense who were some of those eight we had handicapped. But by the time the race ended, only two Americans succeeded in an excellent finish. Most of the Americans went out on pace toward a 2:08-2:09ish finish, but of those only two were able to hold that general pace to the finish. Scott Fauble finished as first American in 2:09:09 and Jared Ward finished in 2:09:25 - the first sub-2:10 finishes for either men. Considering their success at Boston, we'll have to place them as favorites to make the 2020 Olympic Team for the USA.
Scott Fauble - Top American
photo credit: Victah Sailer/PhotoRun |
Top Finishers:
1. Lawrence Cherono (KEN) 2:07:57 - $150,000
2. Lelisa Desisa (ETH) 2:07:59 - $75,000
3. Kenneth Kipkemoi (KEN) 2:08:07 - $40,000
4. Felix Kandie (KEN) 2:08:54 - $25,000
5. Geoffrey Kirui (KEN) 2:08:55 - $15,000
6. Philemon Rono (KEN) 2:08:57 - $12,000
7. Scott Fauble (USA) 2:09:09 - $9,000
8. Jared Ward (USA) 2:09:25 - $7,400
9. Festus Talam (KEN) 2:09:25 - $5,700
10. Benson Kipruto (KEN) 2:09:53 - $4,200
11. Elkanah Kibet (USA) 2:11:51 - $2,600
12. Hiroto Inoue (JPN) 2:11:53 - $2,100
13. Augustus Maiyo (USA) 2:12:40 - $1,800
14. Daniel Mesfun Teklebrhan (ERI) 2:13:05 - $1,700
15. Shadrack Biwott (USA) 2:13:11 - $1,500
16. Mohamed Reda El Aaraby (MAR) 2:13:46
17. Yuki Kawauchi (JPN) 2:15:29
18. Hayato Sonoda (JPN) 2:15:58
19. Dathan Ritzenhein (USA) 2:16:19
20. Brendan Gregg (USA) 2:16:46
21. Matthew Mcdonald (USA) 2:16:58
22. Enoch Nadler (USA) 2:17:06
23. Scott Overall (GBR) 2:17:37
24. Ben Payne (USA) 2:18:01
25. Stephen Vangampleare (USA) 2:18:40
26. Abdi Abdirahman (USA) 2:18:56 - $10,000
27. Hiroki Kai (JPN) 2:19:31
28. Riley Cook (USA) 2:20:23
29. Christopher Kipyego (KEN) 2:20:51 - $5,000
30. Sisay Lemma Kasaye (ETH) 2:22:08
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