With the US Olympic marathon trials taking place in early February, several top American runners opted to not take part in the 2024 Boston Marathon.
A Kenyan-born American runner, Chelanga boasts the top marathon time among elite athletes in this marathon field – a 2:08:50 at the 2023 Chicago Marathon.
High Performance team, McDonald’s best marathon time is 2:09:49 (2022 Chicago Marathon), which stands as the third-best result among US athletes in this marathon field.
McDonald had a strong showing at the 2023 Boston Marathon, finishing in 10th place with a time of 2:10:17.
A decade after winning the Boston Marathon in 2014, Keflezighi is once again back in Boston.
Hall, who finished 17th overall at the 2023 Boston Marathon (2:25:48) is running the 2024 race in support of “Loans for Women in Ethiopia”.
Another familiar face in Boston, Linden is set to take part in her 11th Boston Marathon.
The two-time Olympian finished fourth overall among American runners during the 2023 Boston Marathon with a time of 2:27:18.
Therefore, it shouldn’t come as a surprise if a number of other competitors in these deep elite fields challenge for first place on Boylston Street.
Some of the best runners in the United States decided not to compete in the Boston Marathon in 2024 because the US Olympic Marathon Trials were early in February.
Still, there are a lot of elite American athletes that will participate in the Patriots Day race from Hopkinton to Copley sq\..
The best American athletes to watch during Monday’s race are listed below.
Born in Kenya, American runner Chelanga holds the fastest marathon time among elite competitors in this field, clocking in at the Chicago Marathon in 2023 with a time of 2:08:50. In 2023, Chelanga finished the Boston Marathon in 30th place (2:20:20). This will be his second time competing in the event. Joshua, Chelanga’s older brother, finished third in the Boston Marathon in 2001.
Kibet will be trying to take that momentum into Boston after placing fourth at the US Olympic Team Trials in 2024. Kibet placed eighth in 2018 and ninth in 2022 in Boston, and he placed eleventh in the previous year’s New York City Marathon. Kibet has two top-10 results in Boston.
An individual from Team B. 1. A. High Performance team, McDonald’s best marathon time is 2:09:49 (2022 Chicago Marathon), ranking third among US athletes in this field.
In 2023, McDonald performed admirably, placing tenth in 2:10:17 at the Boston Marathon. The only American runner to beat McDonald in April of last year was Scott Fauble (2:09:44), who opted not to compete in any marathons between the Olympic trials in February and the Summer Olympics in Paris in 2024.
After placing fifth in the US Olympic Trials in a time of 2:10:07, Albertson has a lot of momentum on his side. At the halfway point of the Boston Marathon in 2021, Albertson was leading the field by over two minutes, but with a final time of 2:11:44, he finished in 10th place. Albertson, who holds the world record in the 50K (2:38:43), ran 2:10:23 and 2:10:33 in the Boston Marathons in 2022 and 2023.
Ten years later, in 2014, Keflezighi returns to Boston as the winner of the Boston Marathon. Keflezighi became the first American man to win since 1983, a year after the bombings at the Boston Marathon.
In order to commemorate his win and “to illuminate the way for the MEB Foundation,” which, according to its website, seeks to promote “youth health, education, and fitness” both domestically and internationally, Keflezighi declared in February that he would be running.
As one of the top distance runners in the US, Bates’s stock has increased dramatically in recent years. Bates placed fifth in the Boston Marathon in 2023 (2:22:10), following his second-place finish in the Chicago Marathon in 2021 (2:24:20). Her time from the 2023 race came very close to being the fastest time ever set by an American woman on the Boston course, missing Shalane Flanagan’s record by just a hair (2:22:02).
Bates did experience a setback during the Chicago Marathon in 2023 when she tore her plantar fascia. She will return to action in Hopkinton on Monday after missing the Olympic trials due to the injury.
Hall, a skilled distance runner, recently placed fifth in the US Olympic Trials in 2024 with a time of 2:26:06. That time beat the 2:27:35 Des Linden ran in Chicago in 2023 to establish a new American masters marathon record.
With a personal best marathon time of 2:20:32 at the Marathon Project in December 2020, she is now the fifth-fastest American woman in history.
Hall is running the Boston Marathon in 2024 in support of “Loans for Women in Ethiopia.” Hall placed 17th overall in the 2023 race (2:25:48).
“People can support their families and lift themselves out of poverty with the dignity that the loans provide,” Hall stated on X.
The October 2023 US Olympic Trials saw Rotich, who was born in Kenya, make her debut as a representative of the country. She placed sixth in 2:26:10, her best time ever. Rotich’s only Boston Marathon victory comes from her 2:24:55 finish in the 2015 event. Her best marathon time, 2:23:22, earned her a fifth-place finish in the 2012 Chicago Marathon.
Linden, a well-known figure in Boston, is scheduled to participate in her eleventh Boston Marathon. After finishing a soggy course in 2:39:55 in 2018, Linden became the first American woman to win Boston in over 30 years. In the Boston Marathon in 2023, the two-time Olympian finished fourth overall among American runners with a time of 2:27:18.
Romanchuk, a paraathlete, won two Boston Marathons: in 2019 he finished in 1:21:36 and in 2022 he finished in 1:26:58. Romanchuk won a gold medal in the 400 meters (T54) at the 2020 Summer Paralympic Games. He was the first American to win Boston since 1993 and the race’s youngest winner.
