BOSTON — Defending champion John Korir shattered the Boston Marathon course record Monday, winning the prestigious race in 2 hours, 1 minute, and 52 seconds — a performance that coaches, sports scientists, and 30,000 other runners on the course attributed to what experts are calling “simply being better at running than everyone else who was running.”
Korir, 28, of Kenya, crossed the finish line on Boylston Street to thunderous applause, breaking his own Boston record by over a minute in weather conditions meteorologists described as “good for running” and experienced marathoners described as “fine, I guess, for people like him.”
“My strategy was very simple,” said Korir at the post-race press conference, still barely out of breath in a way that visibly unsettled every journalist in attendance. “I ran hard from the start. Then I ran harder. Then at the end I ran hardest. This is the strategy.” When asked if he had anything to add, he said, “No.”
The 130th Boston Marathon attracted over 30,000 registered runners from 115 countries, many of whom crossed the finish line hours after Korir and were still considered heroes by their families, coworkers, and anyone who has ever attempted to run a 5K and had to stop for a pretzel at mile one.
Sports physiologists noted that Korir’s winning pace of approximately 4 minutes and 39 seconds per mile is, technically, faster than most cars are permitted to travel in a school zone, and significantly faster than the average American walks to their mailbox. A follow-up study is reportedly underway to determine whether this comparison is inspiring or depressing.
The women’s race was equally dominant, with the top finishers completing the 26.2-mile course in times that, if converted to individual steps, would represent approximately 55,000 separate decisions to not stop and sit down — a number sports psychologists described as “staggering” and most observers described as “not something I would do.”
“What these athletes achieve is genuinely superhuman,” said Dr. Patricia Elmore, a sports biomechanics researcher at MIT who watched the race from the Heartbreak Hill viewing area, seated in a camping chair with a thermos of coffee. “The cardiovascular efficiency. The lactic acid tolerance. The mental fortitude. It really makes you think about your own choices.” She then sat back down.
The Boston Marathon has been held annually since 1897 and is widely regarded as the world’s most prestigious road race — a distinction that the organizing committee takes extremely seriously and which, they note, justifies the $265 entry fee, the qualifying time requirements, and the general sense that completing it gives participants the right to mention it in casual conversation for the rest of their lives.
Korir accepted the first-place trophy, the traditional laurel wreath, and the winner’s check before immediately beginning what his coach described as “active recovery,” and what bystanders described as “jogging away from the finish line like he’d just finished a warmup.”
He is expected to return to defend his title in 2027. His strategy, according to sources close to the runner, will remain unchanged.
Globe News Daily’s editorial team attempted to run one mile in solidarity with today’s competitors. We reached 0.4 miles before a unanimous staff vote determined that covering the finish line by taxi was equally valid journalism.
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