The 2016 Boston Marathon was the 120th running of the

Boston Athletic Association The Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) is a non-profit, running-focused, organized sports association for the Greater Boston area. The B.A.A. hosts such events as the Boston Marathon, the B.A.A. 5K, the B.A.A. 10K, the B.A.A. Half Marathon, the ...

's mass-participation marathon. It took place on Monday, April 18 (

Patriots' Day Patriots' Day (Patriot's Day in Maine) is an annual event, formalized as a legal holiday or a special observance day in six states, commemorating the battles of Lexington, Concord, and Menotomy, some of the first battles of the American Revo ...

in Massachusetts). Both of the winners were from Ethiopia: the men's race was won by Lemi Berhanu Hayle in a time of 2:12:45.

Atsede Baysa Atsede Bayisa Tesema, also known as Atsede ''Bayisa'' (born 16 April 1987), is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who specialises in road running events. She has won the Chicago Marathon, Boston Marathon and Paris Marathon twice. She has also ...

won the women's race with a time of 2:29:19.

Course

The event ran along the same winding course the Marathon has followed for many decades 26miles 385yards (42.195 km) of roads and city streets, starting in Hopkinton and passing through six Massachusetts cities and towns, to the finish line beside the

Boston Public Library The Boston Public Library is a municipal public library system in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, founded in 1848. The Boston Public Library is also the Library for the Commonwealth (formerly ''library of last recourse'') of the Commonwea ...

, on Boylston Street in Boston's

Copley Square Copley Square , named for painter John Singleton Copley, is a public square in Boston's Back Bay neighborhood, bounded by Boylston Street, Clarendon Street, St. James Avenue, and Dartmouth Street. Prior to 1883 it was known as Art Square due to it ...

. Over 30,000 valid entries were submitted, with an approximate total of 27,500 runners starting the race. All 50 US states were represented at the marathon, as well as several U.S territories, including

Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

, and the U.S Virgin Islands. The race was broadcast live on

WBZ-TV WBZ-TV (channel 4) is a television station in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, airing programming from the CBS network. It is owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division alongside independent station WSBK-TV (ch ...

in Boston and on NBC Sports in the rest of the United States.

Race summary

2016 Boston Marathon lead women at mile 19

2016 Boston Marathon lead men at mile 19

Race day was sunny and warm, with temperatures around 70 F (21 C) and a little wind. Security was extensive, with police from several towns and national guard patrolling along the course.

Women

Defending women's champion Caroline Rotich entered but did not complete the race, withdrawing after . Three runners,

Joyce Chepkirui Joyce Chepkirui (born 20 August 1988) is a Kenyan long-distance runner who competes in road running events. She established herself as a half marathon runner, winning races in Granollers, Bogotá and Gothenburg. She set a best of 1:06:19 h ...

Tirfi Tsegaye Tirfi Tsegaye Beyene (born 25 November 1984) is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who competes in marathon races. She has won the Berlin Marathon, the Paris Marathon (in a course record), the Tokyo Marathon (also in course-record time), and th ...

and

Valentine Kipketer Valentine Jepkorir Kipketer (born 5 January 1993) is a Kenyan long-distance runner who specialises in the half marathon and marathon distances. She has won marathons in Mumbai and Amsterdam and represented her country at the 2013 World Championshi ...

led at . Eventual winner,

, well behind (by 37 seconds) even at , passed second and third-place finishers Tsegaye and Chepkirui with two miles to go.

Men

Lelisa Desisa Lelisa Desisa Benti (born 14 January 1990) is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who specialises in road running competitions. Desisa gained his first international medal at the 2009 African Junior Athletics Championships, where he took the 10,000 ...

, who won Boston in 2013 and 2015, and 21-year-old Lemi Berhanu Hayle led the men's field for most of the race. Hayle pulled ahead of Desisa off the

Massachusetts Turnpike The Massachusetts Turnpike (colloquially "Mass Pike" or "the Pike") is a toll highway in the US state of Massachusetts that is maintained by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT). The turnpike begins at the New York state li ...

into

Kenmore Square Kenmore Square is a square in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, consisting of the intersection of several main avenues (including Beacon Street and Commonwealth Avenue) as well as several other cross streets, and Kenmore station, an MBTA ...

at , maintaining his lead to take the finish line.

Yemane Tsegay Yemane Adhane Tsegay (born 8 April 1985) is an Ethiopian long distance runner who specialises in the marathon. He won the 2012 Rotterdam Marathon with a personal best time of 2:04:48 hours. He has also won marathons in Eindhoven, Gyeongju, ...

came in third, completing a podium sweep for Ethiopia.

Wheelchair

In the wheelchair races, Marcel Hug won his second Boston Marathon in a three-way finish with ten-time winner

Ernst van Dyk Ernst Francois van Dyk OIS (born 4 April 1973) is a South African wheelchair racer and handcyclist. He has won a record 10 wheelchair titles in the Boston Marathon. He was also awarded the Laureus World Sports Awards for ''Sportsperson with ...

and

Kurt Fearnley Kurt Harry Fearnley, (born 23 March 1981) is an Australian wheelchair racer, who has won gold medals at the Paralympic Games and 'crawled' the Kokoda Track. He has a congenital disorder called sacral agenesis which prevented fetal developme ...

. Tatyana McFadden won her fourth successive title, a full minute ahead of

Manuela Schär Manuela Schär (born 5 December 1984) is a Paralympian athlete from Switzerland competing mainly in category T54 sprint events. She has used a wheelchair since the age of 8, when a playground accident paralysed her from the waist down. Ca ...

and 2015 runner-up

Wakako Tsuchida (born 15 October 1974) is an athlete from Tokyo, Japan, who is an accomplished women's wheelchair marathoner, ice sledge racer and triathlete. She was the first professional wheelchair athlete from Japan and the first Japanese athlete to win g ...

Results

Official results from the Boston Athletic Association:

Wheelchair

References

External links

Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:2016 Boston Marathon Boston Marathon Marathon Boston Marathon

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Boston Marathon Boston Marathon