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Prize money at the Boston Marathon is weighted to the finisher place more than at many other top marathons. At London, Chicago, etc., there are bonuses in the prize table based on achievement of certain time goals and standards. The overall prize for an athlete then becomes a combination of the money for the win – with $55,000-$100,000 being the standard, plus bonuses based on aggressive time goals. The existence of those goals ensures that those races are fast… At Boston, there are no time bonuses, other than a bonus for setting a new course record. Even then, the bonus is for a single runner and is small when compared to the $150,000 first place prize.

The effect of no time bonuses (although certain runners in the elite field have personal agreements with the race and sponsors) and the reliance on placement bonuses means that the races may be slow. The men’s field is generally deep enough and some men aggressive enough that the race starts and continues quickly… On the women’s side, however, it is hit or miss, and in many years the women have started at a slow pace – something that many regional athletes could maintain; then leaving the real race to the last few miles. That scenario was exemplified in 2009 when the women ran the first half of the marathon at a 6:00 (minute/mile) pace – much slower than the 5:30 pace we could expect from the women.

That said, for 2023, the inclusion of the world’s fastest marathoner, Eliud Kipchoge, and his stated goal to both win another (all) Marathon Majors race and set the course record, we will expect the men’s race to be fast. We’ll also note that pre-pandemic, the Boston Marathon offered prize money fifteen deep, but since the pandemic prize money has been only ten deep.

Open Prize Money

Place Men Women 1 $150,000 $150,000 2 $75,000 $75,000 3 $40,000 $40,000 4 $25,000 $25,000 5 $18,000 $18,000 6 $13,500 $13,500 7 $10,500 $10,500 8 $8,500 $8,500 9 $7,000 $7,000 10 $5,500 $5,500

Prize Money – Bonuses

Course record bonus of $50,000 for men breaking Geoffrey Mutai’s time of 2:03:02 set at the 2011 race and women breaking Buzunesh Deba’s time of 2:19:59 set at the 2014 race.

Prize Money – Masters Division

Place	Men	Women
1	$5,000	$5,000
2	$2,500	$2,500
3	$1,500	$1,500