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Boston Marathon 2019 - The Preview
by MarathonGuide.com Staff
At 123 years old, the Boston Marathon has the greatest history of any marathon and continues its commitment to bringing together a great field of elite athletes to provide drama and an exciting race. With that history and commitment - we look forward to the Boston Marathon race more than any other each year.
The 2019 Boston Marathon comes on the heels of one of the most interesting and different Boston Marathons of all time... The 2018 race highlighted just how different and unpredicatable the Boston Marathon is compared to any other of the top marathons.
Why Is Boston Different?
So what makes Boston different and why does that matter to an understanding of the 2019 race? Unlike other top marathons, the Boston Marathon does not care about finisher times... Other marathons either have pacemakers to bring along the athletes at a specified fast pace and/or have time bonuses as part of the prize structure to encourage athletes to post fast times. The Boston Marathon has neither, although it does have one type of time bonus, a bonus for setting a new course record (which is nearly impossible for various reasons). The Boston Marathon is also a straight point-to-point race, so from one year to another that can mean a strong headwind and slow times or a strong tailwind for 26.2 miles and really fast times (the course records were set with huge tailwinds). The Boston Marathon course is also not record-eligible as it is point-to-point but more importantly has a large net elevation loss - it's a downhill course and its results aren't even techinically eligible to qualify someone for the Olympic Trials Marathon.
With a net downhill tilt, the Boston Marathon is considered by some a good course for a personal best. Others feel, however, that with a series of hills (including "Heartbreak Hill") between miles 18 and 20 that the course is tough. But at the same time, the final six miles are all downhill... Who came up with this ridiculous course? [we do know the answer and the background, but that's not for this article, sorry...]
And What Happened in 2018 and Why Does That Matter?
The course and weather combined to make the 2018 Boston Marathon one of the most interesting and unpredictable ever. The 2018 race was run into an incredible headwind, with a terrible cold rain and temperatures in the 30s. It was horrible and ultimately the run was less a race than a test of perserverence. The winners of the men's and women's races were not the fastest in the fields, but they were the toughest. The finishing times were slow for a marathon, but the men's and women's winners each won by more than three minutes. Most of the favorites and fastest runners dropped out and in the women's race, the third place finisher was not even a participant from the elite field.
And why does this matter? As we approach the 2019 race, the forecast is for something similar. MarathonGuide.com staff tried to fly from Denver to Boston on the Wednesday before the race, but the airports were closed for snow and 19 degree temperatures - in April!!! Storms and weather in the USA travel West to East and while the time to fly from Denver to Boston is about 4 hours, the time for weather to travel from Denver to Boston is 4 days and the weather is coming... Or, for those who will like the reference of the return of the HBO series on the day before the Boston Marathon: Winter is Coming...
The 2019 Men's Race
If the weather for the 2019 race does end up similar to that for the 2018 race, then the 2018 winner - Yuki Kawauchi - must be considered the favorite. Kawauchi typically runs a marathon a month and the strength required for that gave Kawauchi the ability to win the 2018 race and to compete at lesser events and Boston in inclement weather. Beyond Kawauchi, whose personal best is "just" 2:08:14 from 2013, the Boston Marathon has recruited for its 2019 race five men who have previosly run sub-2:05 for the marathon and an additional seven men who have run sub 2:07. Of course most of those times have been on flatter courses and sadly none of those athletes are American. Among that field, it is, honestly, impossible bo single out any runner as a favorite or even as the most likely podium contender - and that's why we love the Boston Marathon, we believe anything can happen. Who are the top finishers and arguable favorites? Look for Lawrence Cherono, Sisay Lemma, Solomon Deksisa, Lelisa Desisa and Kenneth Kipkemoi to be among the leaders at the start and then let's just see who can hold on. Of course if the weather is terrible, expect half of those men to drop out...
The 2019 Men's Race - Americans
The Boston Marathon does a great job of attempting to highlight top American marathon talent. With the bad weather in 2018, one of those Americans, Shadrack Biwott, held on to finish on "the podium" in third place. With bad weather in 2019, anything can happen. But regardless, the 2019 Marathon will help us to judge which American men are training well and ultimately which ones we expect will compete well one year hence at the USA Olympic Trials Marathon. Who are the Americans to watch? Dathan Ritzenhein owns one of the fastest Marathon times of any American, but it was a number of years prior and he has always been plagued by injuries. But as Ritz is newly training with the Brooks-Hansons Project, perhaps he will have one more shot at glory. Shadrack Biwott is a favorite and has been sponsored by MarathonGuide.com for the past six years (so we're biased). But we always believe that Shadrack, also coached by the Hansons, has what it takes to rise to the top of the American field and his toughness in finishing third at the 2018 Boston Marathon furthers the belief that Shadrack is as tough as they come. Jeffrey Eggleston holds the second fastest American time in the field and was sponsored for years by MarathonGuide.com (is this article by or about us?). But Eggleston has a history of folding under any pressure at all - we have always hoped that would change and maybe it will - he has the talent. Jared Ward made it to the 2016 Olympics in the Marathon and is always a tough competitor. And Elkanah Kibet will be in the mix.
The 2019 Women's Race
Desiree Linden (nee Davila) is one of the toughest runners on the planet. She has competed well at Boston in a number of years, but in 2019 with other competitors dropping out, she remained tough to the end, not even realizing how far ahead of the remaining field she was as she won by more than three minutes... Davila will be in the mix for much of the race and depending on the weather and remaining athletes will have a good finish. Are we a bit worried that she dropped her long-time coaches the Hansons? Yes... but we will see... Among the other women, we'll look for Worknesh Degefa to finish well if she remains in the mix after the Newton Hllls. Her 2:17:41 finish at the [flat] 2019 Dubai Marathon puts her in a different category from any other runnerand any pace should feel easy for her, although we don't know how she will hold up in inclement weather or with too many hills. But count her in. Edna Kiplagat is now 40! But she has been so successful and just doesn't seem ready to stop - look for her on the podium. Meskerem Assefa, Mare Dibaba and Beruktayit Eshetu will be there.
The 2019 Women's Race - Americans
We really should include Jordan Hasay in the prior paragraph. If she is healthy and the weather is okay, Hasay has the speed and strength to compete for a win and - as she is only 28 - has a number of years to ultimately prove herself to be one of the best American marathoners ever. Sara Hall, a relative newcomer to the marathon, may also have a chance to sneak onto the podium. And new American, Sally Kipyego, continues to improve at the marathon distance and we expect her to show us something special on Marathon Monday.
In Conclusion
Honestly, other marathons have faster times, but they are predictable and boring. It's just not that exciting (well, actually it is, but...) to see a race go out at a prescribed pace with suspected finalists running together behind pacemakers on a fast and flat course. The Boston Marathon can feature bizarre and tough weather. It has hills - up and down - and no one to set a pace for the runners. Anything can happen and that's why we love Boston. What will happen at the 2019 Boston Marathon? Honestly, we have no idea, but we'll be excited to find out!
Elite Lineup:
| Male Elite Athletes |
| Athlete | Country | Bib | Personal Best | Boston |
| Yuki Kawauchi (32) | Japan | 1 | 2:08:14, Seoul, 2013 | History |
| Lawrence Cherono (31) | Kenya | 2 | 2:04:06, Amsterdam, 2018 | History |
| Sisay Lemma (29) | Ethiopia | 3 | 2:04:08, Dubai, 2018 | History |
| Lemi Berhanu (25) | Ethiopia | 4 | 2:04:33, Dubai, 2016 | History |
| Solomon Deksisa (25) | Ethiopia | 5 | 2:04:40, Amsterdam, 2018 | History |
| Lelisa Desisa (29) | Ethiopia | 6 | 2:04:45, Dubai, 2013 | History |
| Kenneth Kipkemoi (35) | Kenya | 7 | 2:05:44, Rotterdam, 2018 | History |
| Felix Kandie (32) | Kenya | 8 | 2:06:03, Seoul, 2017 | History |
| Wesley Korir (37) | Kenya | 9 | 2:06:13, Chicago, 2012 | History |
| Festus Talam (25) | Kenya | 10 | 2:06:13, Eindhoven, 2017 | History |
| Geoffrey Kirui (26) | Kenya | 11 | 2:06:27, Amsterdam, 2016 | History |
| Philemon Rono (28) | Kenya | 12 | 2:06:52, Toronto, 2017 | History |
| Hiroto Inoue (26) | Japan | 14 | 2:06:54, Tokyo, 2018 | History |
| Benson Kipruto (28) | Kenya | 15 | 2:07:11, Seoul, 2018 | History |
| Ghirmay Ghebreslassie (24) | Eritrea | 16 | 2:07:46, London, 2016 | History |
| Dathan Ritzenhein (37) | USA | 17 | 2:07:47, Chicago, 2012 | History |
| Zersenay Tadese (37) | Eritrea | 18 | 2:06:51, Monza Nike Breaking 2, 2017 | History |
| Abdi Abdirahman (42) | USA | 19 | 2:08:56, Chicago, 2006 | History |
| Mohamed Reda El Aaraby (30) | Morocco | 20 | 2:09:16, Chicago, 2018 | History |
| Hayato Sonoda (30) | Japan | 21 | 2:09:34, Oita, 2018 | History |
| Jeffrey Eggleston (35) | USA | 22 | 2:10:51, Gold Coast, 2014 | History |
| Scott Overall (36) | Great Britain | 23 | 2:10:55, Berlin, 2011 | History |
| Jared Ward (31) | USA | 24 | 2:11:30, Rio de Janeiro Olympics, 2016 | History |
| Elkanah Kibet (33) | USA | 25 | 2:11:31, Chicago, 2015 | History |
| Timothy Ritchie (32) | USA | 26 | 2:11:56, Sacramento, 2017 | History |
| Shadrack Biwott (34) | USA | 27 | 2:12:01, New York City, 2016 | History |
| Scott Fauble (28) | USA | 28 | 2:12:28, New York City, 2018 | History |
| Brian Shrader (28) | USA | 29 | 2:13:31, Sacramento, 2018 | History |
| Aaron Braun (32) | USA | | 2:13:41, Chicago, 2017 | History |
| Female Elite Athletes |
| Athlete | Country | Bib | Personal Best | Boston |
| Desiree Linden (36) | USA | 1 | 2:22:38, Boston, 2011 | History |
| Worknesh Degefa (29) | Ethiopia | 2 | 2:17:41, Dubai, 2019 | History |
| Aselefech Mergia (34) | Ethiopia | 3 | 2:19:31, Dubai, 2012 | History |
| Edna Kiplagat (40) | Kenya | 4 | 2:19:50, London, 2012 | History |
| Mare Dibaba (30) | Ethiopia | 5 | 2:19:52, Dubai, 2012 | History |
| Meskerem Assefa (34) | Ethiopia | 6 | 2:20:36, Frankfurt, 2018 | History |
| Jordan Hasay (28) | USA | 7 | 2:20:57, Chicago, 2017 | History |
| Belaynesh Oljira (29) | Ethiopia | 8 | 2:24:21, Boston, 2014 | History |
| Sharon Cherop (35) | Kenya | 9 | 2:22:28, Berlin, 2013 | History |
| Betsy Saina (31) | Kenya | 10 | 2:22:56, Paris, 2018 | History |
| Caroline Rotich (35) | Kenya | 11 | 2:23:22, Chicago, 2012 | History |
| Biruktayit Eshetu (29) | Ethiopia | 12 | 2:23:28, Houston, 2019 | History |
| Sara Hall (36) | USA | 14 | 2:26:20, Ottawa, 2018 | History |
| Eva Vrabcova (33) | Czech Republic | 15 | 2:29:41, New York City, 2017 | History |
| Sally Kipyego (34) | USA | 16 | 2:28:01, New York City, 2016 | History |
| Krista Duchene (42) | Canada | 17 | 2:28:32, Toronto Waterfront, 2013 | History |
| Alyson Dixon (41) | Great Britain | 18 | 2:29:06, London, 2017 | History |
| Lindsay Flanagan (28) | USA | 19 | 2:29:25, Frankfurt, 2018 | History |
| Becky Wade (32) | USA | 20 | 2:30:41, Sacramento, 2013 | History |
| Fionnuala McCormack (35) | Ireland | 21 | 2:31:22, Rio de Janeiro Olympics, 2016 | History |
| Sarah Crouch (30) | USA | 22 | 2:32:37, Chicago, 2018 | History |
| Sarah Sellers (28) | USA | 23 | 2:36:37, New York City, 2018 | History |
| Mary Ngugi (31) | Kenya | 24 | | History |
| Marta Megra (29) | Ethiopia | | 2:22:35, Toronto, 2018 | History |
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