John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images Getty Images
From the weather to the winners to the surprise runners making the podium, the 2018 Boston Marathon was one for the ages. And the biggest moment was that for the first time in 33 years, an American woman wore the laurel wreath on Boylston.
The driving rain and cold temperatures of the day played a factor in both men's and women's elite races. Here's a summary of how they played out.
Pro Women
Desiree Linden
, a two-time Olympian, won her first major marathon title in 2:39:54. It was Linden's sixth time competing in Boston, and her knowledge of the course and trademark no-nonsense grit finally paid off.
"It seemed so not my year," Linden said after the race. "I just expected it was a thing where it was going to be a rebuilding [race]. I know I have a lifetime of mileage. When you're not consistent, that's the thing that kind of sits on your mind. You didn't do the work. Even though I've been doing it forever, it just felt like in the present, you didn't do the work. You're not going to win, you don't deserve to win, you didn't show up every day. "
Sarah Sellers, 26, of Arizona was a surprise second in 2:44:05. Krista Duchene, 41 and a mother of three, was third in 2:44:20.
Pro Men
The men's race saw another surprise winner in Yuki Kawauchi, a frequent marathoner from Japan who finally scored a major marathon victory. He won in 2:15:54. American Shadrack Biwott finished third in 2:18:35 behind former winner Geoffrey Kirui.
"I think there is probably not a single person in Boston who thought I would win this today," Kawauchi said through a translator following the race.
The Weather
The conditions caused the slowest winning times in both the men's and women's field in more than 30 years. To cope, elites donned jackets, Galen Rupp wore a mask, and NAZ elite runner Kellyn Taylor was forced to drop out at the 20K mark because of hypothermia symptoms.
Charity Runners
In other important moments from the 2018 race, runners who did the full 26.2 miles for charity pulled in some large dollar amounts. Charity runners raised $36.6 million, which was a 7 percent jump from 2017. It wasn't the most money ever raised (that would be in 2014, a year after the Boston bombings), but more than 100 charities benefitted from the charity field. (Interested in running Boston one year? Here's how you get in.)
For more highlights from the 2018 Boston Marathon, see the recap below.
1
The First U.S. Woman to Win in 33 Years
Linden, 34, charged through the finish line in 2:39:54 to win the 2018 Boston Marathon.
In a race that saw elites drop out because of severe weather—including Galen Rupp—Linden admitted that she almost quit as well. Instead of staying with the lead pack at roughly the hour mark, she slowed down to help Shalane Flanagan—who broke off to take a short pit stop at a porta-potty (more on that in a moment).
Linden recovered at the 20-mile mark and surged ahead of Ethiopia's Mamitu Daska, running uncontested until the finish.
2
Yuki Kawauchi Didn't Know He Was Leading the Race Until the Homestretch
The television announcers struggled to pronounce 31-year-old Yuki Kawauchi's name as he bolted to the front of the pack in the opening miles. Then they questioned how long he could hang on. He dropped from the lead pack around mile three, only to work his way back with roughly six miles to go.
His victory, running 2:15:58, isn't just a surprise. It's shocking. "I think there's not a single person in Boston who thought I was going to win today," he said. With 100-meters to go, he did not know he was winning. It wasn't until a volunteer waved him to the right side of the street and he spotted the finishers tape that he realized he was going to top the podium.
As Runner's World reported in 2015, Kawauchi holds a full-time office job at a high school. Before today, he was most known for his prodigious racing schedule (he's finished more than 70 marathons in under 2:20) and his world record for the fastest half marathon completed in a suit.
But while the favorites floundered in the brutal weather, Kawauchi thrived. "For me, these are the best conditions possible," he said in a postrace interview.
Driving rain and blistering headwinds created a sea of ponchos at the starting line in Hopkinton Monday morning. At 8:40 a.m. it was 37 degrees, the coldest Boston Marathon starting temperature in more than three decades.
[The Worst Weather Days in Boston Marathon History]
In the mass field of runners, it was reported after noon that all medical tents filled up at the finish and along the course as runners continued toward Boylston in the unrelenting rain. By 4:30 p.m., 2,527 runners were treated by staff, most with hypothermia symptoms, according to Chris Troyanos, a medical official for the race. He also confirmed 25 elites dropped out.
4
Shalane Flanagan Takes a Bathroom Break
Roughly an hour into the race, Shalane Flanagan peeled from the lead pack and jumped into a porta-potty. Her pit-stop lasted roughly 13 seconds.
Eventual winner Desiree Linden slowed her pace. Linden said that at that point in the race, she intended to drop out and wanted to help Flanagan work back up to the lead pack. Flanagan ended up taking 7th place in 2:46:31.
5
50 Years After Winning, Amby Burfoot Crosses the Finish Line Again
To commemorate the half-century anniversary of his 1968 Boston Marathon win, 71-year-old Amby Burfoot once again trekked from Hopkinton to Boylston.
"It took 50 years to get here and it was worth every year and mile," he said in an interview after the race. The former editor-in-chief of Runner's World wore the bib number 1968. He finished in 4:53:22, a little over two and a half hours shy of his 2:22:17 victory when he was 21.
6
The Women's Podium Was Full of Surprises
The first question at the postrace press conference for second-place Sarah Sellers and third place Krista DuChene?
"Can you please introduce yourself?"
Sellers is a 26 year-old nurse who lives in Utah. DuChene is a 41-year-old registered dietitian and mother of three from Branford, Ontario, Canada. She won the Canadian National Marathon Championships in 2010. Neither expected to podium at the Boston Marathon. DuChene said that before the race, her goal was to place top three in the masters division. Instead, she will take home $40,000.
Sellers earned $75,000. When asked what she is going to do with the money, the former collegiate runner for Weber State said, "I'm in shock."
7
Tatyana McFadden Makes History
Battling 20 to 30 mph headwinds, the world's most dominant wheelchair athlete took home her fifth Boston Marathon victory in 2:04:39. The win marks her 22nd World Marathon Major, victory—the most wins by any athlete in series.
In the men's field, Switzerland's Marcel Hug won with a time of 1:46:26
Kit Fox Special Projects Editor Kit has been a health, fitness, and running journalist for the past five years.
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