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.
The 2025 New York City Marathon not only crowned its champion on Sunday, the race also saw a new course record as Kenya's Hellen Obiri crossed the Central Park finish line with a time of 2:19.51 — shattering fellow Kenyan Margaret Okayo's 2003 record by a full two minutes and 40 seconds.
Returning to the top of the New York marathon field after first winning the race in 2023, 2024 runner-up Obiri led a Kenyan contingent that swept the podium, as 2022 winner Sharon Lokedi trailed by a mere 16 seconds while 2024 champion Sheila Chepkirui claimed third with a time of 2:20:24 — all three blasting through the previous course record of 2:22.31.
"We had a very strong field," said Obiri following the race. "[I told myself] let me try to do my best, let me push."
With her championship, Obiri claimed both the $100,000 winner's check as well as an additional $50,000 in prize money for breaking the course record.
Though the 2025 New York City Marathon marked the second straight year that Kenyan runners owned the podium, Fiona O'Keeffe also made history by setting a a new US course record with her fourth-place finish.
Finishing the five-borough race in 2:22.49, O'Keeffe shaved nearly two minutes off the previous US record of 2:24:42 — set in 2021 by Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist Molly Seidel.
"I can't take too much credit for the time — that was all on the women ahead of me," O'Keeffe said, sharing the spotlight with the runners who pushed her on Sunday. "Grateful to be back in the marathon. Feels like coming home."
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.