After a Long Wait, the Boston Marathon Returns as a Fall Classic

On the men’s side, C.J. Albertson, an unheralded American, raced to a two-minute lead and improbably stayed there until the hills in the race’s late stages. Then Kenya’s Benson Kipruto, whose biggest wins had come in Prague and Toronto, caught and passed him and raced to victory alone in 2 hours 9 minutes 51 seconds, finishing 46 seconds clear of the field. Ethiopian runners finished second, third and fourth.

The race was slower than expected, Kipruto said through a translator on local television. “They really help when they cheer us,” he said of the fans.

Albertson, running on his 28th birthday, hung on to finish 10th.

In the women’s race, an unexpected winner, Diana Kipyokei of Kenya, emerged from the pack at 18 miles, took the lead, was caught, then pulled away again for the win in 2:24:45. It was her major marathon debut. Edna Kiplagat, a 41-year-old veteran from Kenya, was second, and Kenyans also finished third and fourth.

The hills at the end of the marathon were the hardest part of the race, Kipyokei said through a translator.

The wheelchair winners were better known, and their wins were more decisive. Marcel Hug and Manuela Schar, both of Switzerland, each grabbed leads from the gun and blew away their competitors for easy victories. The main drama came when Hug missed a turn near the finish, costing him a few seconds and probably the course record, which would have brought him a $50,000 bonus. Hug had finished second in the Chicago Marathon only a day earlier.

“Just a stupid mistake for myself,” Hug said, adding: “I’m also upset with this. It should not happen.”

And it was four down and two to go for Shalane Flanagan, who successfully continued her quest to run all six major marathons each in under three hours over a six-week span. She ran 2:40:34, good for 33rd place among women.