Sharon Lokedi, who won in Boston last year with a course record of 2:17:22, will be back to defend her title. Six months after her Boston triumph, Lokedi went on to place second in New York in 2:20:07, an official PB as Boston is ineligible for records and PBs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lokedi is joined by fellow Kenyans Vivian Cheruiyot and Irine Cheptai, as well as Ethiopians Workenesh Edesa and Bedatu Hirpa. In total, there are 11 women on the entry list who have bettered 2:20 for the marathon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cheptai placed fourth last year in 2:21:32, while world and Olympic gold medallist Cheruiyot finished fifth in London last year. Edesa won the 2024 Sydney Marathon, as well as the Osaka and Hamburg Marathons in 2025, while Hirpa was the Paris and Dubai Marathon winner last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kenya\u2019s Mary Ngugi-Cooper, who set a PB of 2:19:25 in Chicago last year, has placed in the top 10 five times in Boston.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are also 13 US women in the field with PBs faster than 2:26. No American woman has won the open division since Des Linden in 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The entire 2024 U.S. Olympic Marathon team will be on the start line, including Emily Sisson, Fiona O\u2019Keeffe, and Dakotah Popehn. Sisson is the national record holder in the marathon (2:18:29), and O\u2019Keeffe is coming off a fourth place showing at the 2025 TCS New York City Marathon in November. Popehn set a lifetime best of 2:24:21 in finishing seventh at the Bank of America Chicago Marathon last October.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Also in full-force will be the entire American squad from last year\u2019s World Championships Marathon in Tokyo: Susanna Sullivan, Jess McClain, and Erika Kemp. Sullivan placed fourth at Worlds, while McClain was top American at Boston last year (seventh overall, 2:22:43) and Kemp has a lifetime best of 2:22:56 \u2013 the fastest time ever by a U.S.-born black woman. One spot behind McClain in Boston last April was Annie Frisbie (eighth, 2:23:21); she\u2019s back and coming off a stellar fifth-place in New York in November.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Keira D\u2019Amato, former American record holder at both the marathon and half-marathon distance with lifetime bests of 2:19:12 and 1:06:39 returns for her third Boston. Also racing is Sara Hall, a former national record holder in the half-marathon and runner-up at the Houston Marathon on January 11 (2:26:26).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Making their Boston debuts are Megan Sailor, Natosha Rogers, and Amanda Vestri. Sailor trains in Boston as a member of the B.A.A. High Performance Team, and placed third at the 2025 U.S. Marathon Championships in her first crack at 26.2 miles (2:25:17). Rogers was sixth in Chicago and seventh in Nagoya last year. Vestri made her marathon debut in New York City, finishing ninth (2:25:40).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Experience is key in Boston, and that\u2019s just what Great Britain\u2019s Calli Hauger-Thackery and Kenya\u2019s Mary Ngugi-Cooper have. Hauger-Thackery had a career year in 2025 that saw a sixth place, 2:22:38 finish in Boston and a win at the Honolulu Marathon in December, followed by victory in Houston this month. Ngugi-Cooper has placed in the top-ten five times in Boston, and last fall ran a personal best 2:19:25 in Chicago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The women\u2019s wheelchair division is led by defending champion Susannah Scaroni. The Illinois alum is carrying momentum into 2026 having won Boston, Chicago, New York, and Sydney Marathons over the course of 2025. She also finished first at Boston in 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Switzerland\u2019s Catherine Debrunner and Manuela Sch\u00e4r were closest to Scaroni in second and third last Patriots\u2019 Day. Debrunner is looking for her first Boston title while Sch\u00e4r owns the course record (1:28:17) and tallied four Boston wins between 2017 and 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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