US women dominated the 2026 Boston Marathon results on Monday, with four runners cracking the Top 10 — and Arizona-born Jess McClain shattering the US course record.
McClain finished fifth overall in 2:20:49, breaking Shalane Flanagan's 2014 mark by 1:13. The performance marked McClain's second consecutive year as the top US finisher in Boston.
"I had no idea how fast I was running, so I was very pleasantly surprised when I got to the finish and realized what the official time was," McClain said afterwards.
The 34-year-old faced adversity when she missed her water bottle at the 30-kilometer aid station. She fell to the back of the lead pack, before subsequently fighting back into contention in the Newton hills.
Three other US women joined McClain at the top of the Boston Marathon results. Annie Frisbie finished eighth in 2:22:00, before Emily Sisson placed ninth in 2:22:39, and Carrie Ellwood rounded out the Top 10 with a 10th-place finish in 2:22:53.
Kenya's Sharon Lokedi defended her 2025 title by winning the race in 2:18:51 — the fourth-fastest women's time in Boston Marathon history. Fellow Kenyans Loice Chemnung and Mary Ngugi-Cooper completed the podium sweep.
Monday's Boston Marathon results showcased the depth of US distance running. Seven US women finished in the elite field, demonstrating the host country's growing marathon prowess.
Kenya's Sharon Lokedi defended her Boston Marathon title on Monday, leading the 2026 results with a dominant wire-to-wire performance. The Boston Marathon winner clocked 2 hours, 18 minutes and 51 seconds — the fourth-fastest women's time in race history.
Lokedi led an all-Kenyan podium sweep at the 130th Boston Marathon, with Loice Chemnung finishing second at 2:19:35 while Mary Ngugi-Cooper claimed third at 2:20:07.
"I was very tired, I didn't know if I had it today," the celebrated distance runner said afterwards. "But I felt like this was it. I was either going to go or I was going to stay."
The defending champion forgot her watch on race day. She borrowed one at the last minute, but subsequently never checked her splits during the race.
"I knew I was going fast, I just didn't know how fast I was going," Lokedi said.
Arizona native Jess McClain stole the Boston Marathon results spotlight by shattering the US course record. She finished fifth overall in 2:20:49, breaking Shalane Flanagan's 2014 mark by 1:13.
McClain improved her time by 1:54 over last year's seventh-place finish. She topped the US field for the second consecutive year.
"To run the time that I knew was in me, at some point in the wheelhouse of what I can do, is really awesome," McClain said after.
Three other US women's runners cracked the Top 10 on Monday. Annie Frisbie finished eighth at 2:22:00, Emily Sisson placed ninth at 2:22:39, and Carrie Ellwood rounded out the Top 10 at 2:22:53.
London Follows Boston Marathon on 2026 World Majors Calendar
The 2026 season continues this weekend, as the London Marathon — the next World Marathon Major on the calendar — kicks off on April 26th.
Kenyan runner Sharon Lokedi shattered the women’s course record at the 2025 Boston Marathon on Monday, finishing the 129th edition of the race in 2:17:22 — more than two and a half minutes faster than the previous record set by Ethiopia's Buzunesh Deba in 2014.
The victory marked the 31-year-old runner's second major marathon championship following her 2022 New York City Marathon win.
After finishing second in the 2024 Boston Marathon behind fellow Kenyan Hellen Obiri, Lokedi avenged her runner-up status by overtaking the back-to-back defending champion in the final kilometer of Monday’s race.
"I'm always second to her and today I was like, 'There’s no way,'" Lokedi said of her rivalry with Obiri. "I just have to put it out there and fight 'til the end and see how it goes. I'm so glad I ran that fast and she was right behind me. We all fought and wanted this so bad."
All of this year’s top three finishers broke through the course record pace, with Obiri and Ethiopia's Yalemzerf Yehualaw joining Lokedi both at the finish line and in the Boston Marathon's record book.
Along with her $150,000 winner's check, Lokedi will pocket an additional $50,000 for claiming the fastest women's time in Boston Marathon history.
Kenyan runner Hellen Obiri won the 128th Boston Marathon on Monday, becoming the first woman to claim back-to-back titles since 2005.
She clocked a total time of 2 hours, 27 minutes, and 37 seconds in a women's division that race organizers described as "historically fast."
"Defending the title was not easy," Obiri said. "Since Boston started, it's only six women [that have repeated]. If you want to be one of them, you have to work extra hard. And I'm so happy because I'm now one of them — I'm now in the history books."
A two-time Olympic silver medalist and two-time 5000m world champion, Obiri is a clear favorite in this summer’s Paris Olympics.
“Last year I was pretty familiar to the marathon, but this year my training was perfect — we trusted everything we were doing,” Obiri said. “When we won last year, of course I was saying I’m going to win this one. Winning is like love. It’s something precious to me.”
Though, she wasn’t without a challenge. Fellow Kenyan Sharon Lokedi finished a mere eight seconds behind Obiri. Edna Kiplagat, who won the 2017 Boston Marathon, completed the podium sweep for Kenya with a third place finish.
Emma Bates, the race's top American finisher, came in 12th.
Obiri wasn't alone in making Boston Marathon history this year. The repeat champ walked away with $150,000 in total prize money allocated from a purse that topped $1 million for the first time ever.