Boston Marathon build‑up
- Coverage says the 2026 Boston Marathon is imminent and remains one of the seven World Marathon Majors. (usatoday.com) - NBC noted it has been over three years since an American finished top three at a World Marathon Major. (nbcsports.com) - Broad media attention focuses on whether a U.S. runner can return to a major podium at this Boston race. ( )
The 2026 Boston Marathon goes off Monday, April 20, with U.S. runners trying to end a World Marathon Majors podium drought that has stretched past three years. (nbcsports.com) The Boston Athletic Association says the 130th edition starts in Hopkinton and finishes in Boston on Patriots’ Day, with ESPN2 carrying the race from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Eastern. (baa.org) Boston remains one of the seven Abbott World Marathon Majors, a circuit that now includes Tokyo, Boston, London, Sydney, Berlin, Chicago and New York City. (abbott.com ) (baa.org) The U.S. angle is specific: no American woman has finished top three at a major since Emily Sisson was second in Chicago in 2022, and no American man has done it since Galen Rupp was third in Chicago in 2021. Both are entered in Boston. (nbcsports.com) NBC Sports called it the longest combined American podium drought in major international marathons since the World Marathon Majors series began in 2006. The same preview said Boston offers one of the better openings for U.S. women because several top international stars are racing London next Sunday instead. (nbcsports.com) The Boston Athletic Association announced a women’s field with 13 U.S. athletes who have run faster than 2:26, including the entire 2024 U.S. Olympic marathon team of Sisson, Fiona O’Keeffe and Dakotah Popehn. O’Keeffe, however, withdrew Sunday because of a recent hamstring issue, according to NBC Sports. (baa.org) (nbcsports.com) On the international side, defending open champions Sharon Lokedi of Kenya and John Korir of Kenya are back, along with wheelchair champions Susannah Scaroni of the United States and Marcel Hug of Switzerland. The Boston Athletic Association also said Conner Mantz and Sisson enter as the top U.S. hopes in the open divisions. (baa.org) Boston’s place in the sport is older than the majors label. The Boston Athletic Association says it organized the first race in 1897, making it the world’s oldest annual marathon. (baa.org) The event is also bigger than the two open races. The Boston Athletic Association says prize money is split equally between men and women in the open, masters and wheelchair divisions, and it lists separate para athletics prize purses as well. (baa.org) By Monday afternoon, the race will answer two questions at once: whether Boston’s defending champions can hold off another deep field, and whether an American can finally get back on a major marathon podium. (baa.org) (nbcsports.com)
