The 115th Boston Marathon was run today and it was quite a thrilling race. The race was run under perfect conditions with temperatures at the start in the mid 40's, a 10 to 15 mph tail wind, and cloudy skies. Approximately 27,000 runners started this year. The conditions set the stage for a fast race.
The women's race had an interesting beginning with Kim Smith from New Zealand who went to college at Providence, went out hard and led by nearly one minute at the 1/2 marathon. She ran the first half in just under 1 hour and 11 minutes, which is a very fast pace. She ended up fading around the 15 mile mark, and dropped out shortly after possibly with an injury.
American Kara Goucher was back again after giving birth to her first child about 7 months ago. She ran a strong race finishing 5th in 2:24:52.
The big story in the women's race was the exciting finish which came down to two women. Kenyan Caroline Kilel and American Desiree Davila actually exchanged the lead twice in the final 1/2 mile with Kilel winning by 2 seconds in a fast time of 2:22:36. No American woman has won Boston since 1985 so Davila had the crowd going wild. She ran a fantastic race and set a personal record by about 4 minutes.
The men's race was historic and it will have runners talking and debating for a long time to come. Kenyan Geoffrey Mutai won the race in the fastest marathon ever run with a time of 2:03:02. Kenyan Moses Mosop was 2nd with the 2nd fastest time in the history of the world in 2:03:06.
The fact that this was the fastest marathon ever run is a fact. But because the course is not flat and is not certified as a world record course, the time does not count as and official world record. Interesting. Usually the Boston course produces slower times than other flat certified courses like Chicago and London because it has hills. So one could argue it is a much harder course than the ones that the world record can be set on. It is true that the tail wind that was present this year made for a fast race, but the course still has hills. To me the bottom line is that the 2:03:02 time run by Geoffrey Mutai is the world record. One thing is for sure- It's the fastest time ever run for 26.2 miles by any human being in the history of the world. Period.
American Ryan Hall ran a fantastic race. He was with the lead pack until about the 15 mile mark. He finished 4th in 2:04:58 which is the fastest time ever run by an American. Just an incredible
