Boston Marathon 2023 LIVE: Updates and result as Eliud Kipchoge beaten after bombing remembered 10 years on

Evans Chebet stunned Kipchoge to win the men’s elite race on the 10th anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombing

Reporter's notebook: Boston Marathon bombing 'feels like yesterday'

The great Eliud Kipchoge was shockingly beaten at the 127th running of the Boston Marathon as defending champion Evans Chebet brilliantly retained his men’s elite title.

The world’s oldest annual marathon event once again delivered high drama as world record holder Kipchoge was stunningly dropped around the 20-mile mark and Chebet then opened up a lead over the chasing pack on the iconic Heartbreak Hill.

The Kenyan held off the challenge of Gabriel Geay and his training partner Benson Kipruto to finish with a time of 2:05:54 and become the first man since 2008 to retain the Boston Marathon elite men’s title.

This year’s edition held special significance as it is the 10th anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombing, a domestic terrorist attack in 2013 that saw three people killed and hundreds injured. For a marathon that is fittingly held on Patriots’ Day in the United States, the bombing was remembered and those killed were commemorated with a military march before the racing began.

Follow all the reaction from the event with our blog below:

Boston Marathon 2023 live updates

• The Boston Marathon takes place for the 127th time on Patriots’ Day in the United States
• A decade on from the Boston Marathon bombing, a military march commemorated the victims
• Eliud Kipchoge beaten in shock Boston Marathon result
• Evans Chebet wins the elite men’s race!
• DROPPED! Men’s world record holder Eliud Kipchoge surprisingly dropped by the lead group around the 20-mile mark
• Hellen Obiri wins the women’s elite race!
• Marcel Hug wins the men’s wheelchair race!
• Susannah Scaroni wins the women’s wheelchair race!

[17 April 2023 11:45 · Mike Jones]

Who has entered the women’s elite race?

Amane Beriso will be hoping to record another standout time after becoming the third fastest woman in history in Valencia in December 2022.

The Ethiopian could face competition from compatriot Gotytom Gebreslase, the world champion. Here are the fastest entrants:

Amane Beriso, Ethiopia - Personal Best (2:14:58 NR)

Sheila Chepkirui, Kenya - PB (2:17:29)

Joyciline Jepkosgei, Kenya - PB (2:17:43)

Lonah Salpeter, Israel - PB (2:17:45)

Angela Tanui, Kenya - PB (2:17:57)

Fancy Chemutai, Kenya - PB (2:18:11)

Gotytom Gebreslase, Ethiopia - PB (2:18:11)

Hiwot Gebremaryam, Ethiopia - PB (2:19:10)

Edna Kiplagat, Kenya - PB (2:19:50)

Celestine Chepchirchir, Kenya - PB (2:20:10)

Maurine Chepkemoi, Kenya - PB (2:20:18)

Mary Ngugi, Kenya - PB (2:20:22)

Nazret Weldu Gebrehiwet, Eritrea - PB (2:20:29 NR)

Sara Hall, USA - PB (2:20:32)

Ababel Yeshaneh, Ethiopia - PB (2:20:51)

Vibian Chepkirui, Kenya - PB (2:20:59)

Atsede Baysa, Ethiopia - PB (2:22:03)

[17 April 2023 11:38 · Mike Jones]

Who has entered the men’s elite race?

Eliud Kipchoge, the men’s marathon world record holder, headlines the entry list for the 2023 Boston Marathon. Evans Chebet, last year’s winner, is also in the field.

The fastest entrants are:

Eliud Kipchoge, Kenya - Personal Best (2:01:09 WR)

Evans Chebet, Kenya - PB (2:03:00)

Gabriel Geay, Tanzania - PB (2:03:00 NR)

Herpasa Negasa, Ethiopia - PB (2:03:40)

Benson Kipruto, Kenya - PB (2:04:24)

Lelisa Desisa, Ethiopia - PB (2:04:45)

Shura Kitata, Ethiopia - PB (2:04:49)

John Korir, Kenya - PB (2:05:01)

Nobert Kigen, Kenya - PB (2:05:13)

Ghirmay Ghebreslassie, Eritrea - PB (2:05:34)

Andualem Belay, Ethiopia - PB (2:05:45)

Mark Korir, Kenya - PB (2:05:49)

[17 April 2023 11:32 · Mike Jones]

Eliud Kipchoge headlines elite lineup as Boston Marathon honours victims of a decade ago

World record-holder Eliud Kipchoge headlines a star-studded Boston Marathon field on Monday as the world’s oldest 26.2-mile race takes on a somber tone 10 years after a bombing attack near the finish line.

Survivors, first responders and other members of the public gathered on Saturday in Boston in honor of the victims of the marathon bombing, one of the most high-profile attacks on U.S. soil that claimed three lives and saw scores more injured.

A shattered community came together in the wake of the attack, adopting the slogan “Boston Strong” in a show of unity and resilience.

“This year, I am thinking about the importance of continuing on in the face of pain and setbacks,” Boston‘s Coordinated Response Team Director Tania Del Rio said in a statement.

[17 April 2023 11:24 · Mike Jones]

Boston Marathon Bombing full story uncovered in Netflix documentary, ten years on

It has been a decade since two homemade bombs exploded near the finish line of the Boston marathon, killing Martin Richard, eight, Krystle Campbell, 29, and Lingzi Lu, 23, and injuring more than 200 people. The city marked the 10th anniversary of the attacks on 15 April with One Boston Day, a day for “volunteer events and acts of kindness”.

There will be a shoe drive, a spice drive, a donation drive for food, baby supplies and clothing, and a blood drive, among other initiatives. One Boston Day has been billed as a day to honour the city’s “spirit of care for one another in response to the tragic events of April 15, 2013.”

A new Netflix documentary series, American Manhunt: The Boston Marathon Bombing, looks back not only on the attack and its aftermath, but also on the past 10 years, and what we have learned since. Its anchor is the four-day period after the bombing, and the search for 19-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and his 26-year-old brother Tamerlan.

Tamerlan died on 19 April following a confrontation with authorities and after being struck by an SUV his brother was driving. Dzhokhar was convicted of the bombing and sentenced to death in 2015. He remains on death row.

[17 April 2023 11:17 · Mike Jones]

What is the Boston Marathon record?

The current course record for men at the Boston Marathon is two hours three minutes and two seconds by Geoffrey Mutai in 2011.

The course record for women at the Boston Marathon is two hours 19 minutes and 59 seconds by Buzunesh Deba in 2014.

[17 April 2023 11:10 · Mike Jones]

How many people are running the Boston Marathon?

The 2023 race field for the Boston Marathon includes 30,000 runners from 122 countries and all 50 US states.

[17 April 2023 11:04 · Mike Jones]

Boston Marathon 2023

(AFP via Getty Images)

(AFP via Getty Images)

(AFP via Getty Images)

[17 April 2023 10:57 · Mike Jones]

What is Heartbreak Hill?

Hills define the Boston Marathon route with runners dreading one specific hill in particular nicknamed Heartbreak Hill located between Mile 20 and 21 in Newton.

Heartbreak Hill is the last of four hills in Newton which begin at Mile 16. It is not the steepest or highest hill along the course - it makes only an 88 foot ascent over a 0.4 mile stretch near Boston College.

However, runners consider Heartbreak Hill to be the most challenging stretch of the course because it occurs so far along in the race, at a point when their energy and stamina is almost depleted.

Don’t forget about the four other hills that come just before it too.

[17 April 2023 10:50 · Mike Jones]

Marathon world records

Elite men: 2hrs 1mins 09secs, Eliud Kipchoge, Berlin, September 2022.

For context, the average time for male runners is approximately 3 hours 48 mins.

Elite women: 2hrs 14mins 04secs, Brigid Kosgei, Chicago, October 2019.

While the average time for female runners is approximately 4 hours 23 mins.

[17 April 2023 10:42 · Mike Jones]

What is the route for the 2023 Boston Marathon?

The course begins in Hopkinton, a town in rural Massachusetts, with runners setting off from Main Street and heading down Route 135. They will plod through the towns of Ashland, Framingham, and Natick, before joining Route 16 shortly after Wellesley. Hanging a right on to Commonwealth Avenue (Route 30) by the fire station in Newton Lower Falls, the course continues over the Newton Hills and by Boston College, a university, before arriving at Cleveland Circle via Chestnut Hill Avenue.

The runners will then negotiate a left turn on to Beacon Street as it nears the finish, turning right on to Hereford Street, left on to Boylston Street and eventually concluding near the Boston Public Library in Copley Square in the heart of the city.