Rory Linkletter’s final tune‑up
Rory Linkletter posted his last big workout before the Boston Marathon, emphasizing rehearsal of race pace and recovery rather than a maximal effort in the taper phase. That prep clip appeared as the 130th Boston Marathon build‑up ramps toward Patriots’ Day, April 20, with broadcast and athlete‑tracking information already published for race week. (youtube.com) (usatoday.com)
Rory Linkletter’s last hard session before Boston looked less like a test and more like a rehearsal. In a video posted April 16, the Canadian Olympian framed the workout as his final big tune-up before Monday’s Boston Marathon. (youtube.com) The details around Linkletter’s buildup matter because Boston is three days away, on Monday, April 20, in the race’s 130th edition. The Boston Athletic Association has already published bib assignments, corrals, and start times for the field. (baa.org) Boston is not a place where marathoners usually chase a laboratory-perfect time trial. The course runs 26.2 miles from Hopkinton to Boylston Street, and the field includes 30,000 runners from more than 130 countries and all 50 states. (boston.com) That helps explain why a taper workout can center on rhythm and recovery instead of all-out effort. In marathon training, tapering is the final reduction in workload before race day, meant to keep fitness while letting fatigue drop. (youtube.com) (worldathletics.org) Linkletter arrives with faster credentials than he had a year ago. World Athletics lists his marathon best at 2:06:49 from Chicago on Oct. 12, 2025, and his half-marathon best at 59:49 from Jan. 11, 2026. (worldathletics.org) He also returns to Boston after a breakthrough result on this course. The Boston Athletic Association’s men’s field announcement lists Linkletter as the sixth-place finisher in 2025 in 2:07:02, making him one of eight top-10 men from last year back in the field. (baa.org) The race around him is deep. The Boston Athletic Association said the men’s professional field includes 25 athletes who have run under 2:07, with defending champion John Korir, 2021 winner Benson Kipruto, and American record holder Conner Mantz among the headliners. (baa.org) Fans already have the logistics to follow what comes next. USA Today reported the race will be shown nationally on ESPN2 and streamed on ESPN+, while the Boston Athletic Association says its Racing App provides live participant tracking, leaderboards, maps, and checkpoint alerts. (usatoday.com) (baa.org) So the final picture before Marathon Monday is a runner with a 2:06:49 personal best, a sixth-place Boston finish from 2025, and one last controlled workout in the bank. The next meaningful split comes on April 20, not in training. (worldathletics.org) (baa.org)
