The 117th annual Boston Marathon was graced with clear skies on Monday as thousands of runners trekked from Hopkinton, Mass. to Copley Square in Boston. The race took participants through several Massachusetts towns, including Ashland, Framingham, Natick and Wellesley before making its way through several Boston neighborhoods.
Much like last year, African runners dominated the race by taking the top spots in both the men's and women's marathon. Ethiopian Lelisa Desisa, 23, came in first place in the men's marathon with a time of 2:10:22, finishing a mere 5 seconds before Kenya's Micah Kogo, 26. Fellow Ethiopian Gebregziabher Gebremariam, 28, finished third with a time of 2:10:28.
Kenyan Rita Jeptoo, 32, took the crown in the women's marathon with a time of 2:26:25. With her win, Jeptoo became a two-time Boston Marathon winner; she won for the first time in 2006. Ethiopian runner Meseret Hailu, 22, followed in second place with 2:26:58. Kenyan Sharon Cherop, 29, the defending champion, took third place with a time of 2:27:01.
The men's wheelchair division race also went to an international participant, with Hiroyuki Yamamoto of Japan coming in first place. Yamamoto, 46, clocked in with a time of 1:25:33. On the women's side, Maryland participant Tatyana McFadden, 23, took the top place with a time of 1:45:25. Both began their races at 9:17 in the morning.
Winners of the marathon went on to earn $150,000 along with the traditional olive wreath.