2011 Boston Marathon

The 2011 Boston Marathon took place on Monday, April 18, 2011, as the 115th official running of the Boston Marathon. On October 18, 2010, the 20,000 spots reserved for qualifiers were filled in a record-setting eight hours and three minutes.^[1] Geoffrey Mutai of Kenya won the men's race in a time of 2:03:02.^[2]

2011 Boston Marathon
Venue	Boston, Massachusetts
Dates	April 18
Champions
Men	Geoffrey Mutai (2:03:02)
Women	Caroline Kilel (2:22:36)
Wheelchair men	Masazumi Soejima (1:18:50)
Wheelchair women	Wakako Tsuchida (1:34:06)
← 2010 2012 →

Background

In December 2010, Tom Grik, the President of the Boston Athletic Association's Board of Governors, said that the BAA would focus on recruiting top Americans to the marathon.^[3] In February 2011, Meb Keflezighi, the 2009 winner of the New York City Marathon and considered along with Ryan Hall to be one of the two most prominent American marathoners, announced through his website that race organizers had failed to make an appearance fee offer to him and that he would not be participating in the race.^[4]

Mutai record

Geoffrey Mutai

In recognizing Geoffrey Mutai's winning time of 2:03:02 as the "fastest Marathon ever run", the International Association of Athletics Federations noted that the performance was not eligible for world record status given that the course does not satisfy rules regarding elevation drop (it has "more than three times the elevation drop permitted for record-setting") and start/finish separation.^[5] The Associated Press (AP) reported that Mutai had the support of other runners who describe the IAAF's rules as "flawed".^[6] According to the Boston Herald, race director Dave McGillivray said he was sending paperwork to the IAAF to have Mutai's mark ratified as a world record.^[2] The AP also indicated that the attempt to have the mark certified as a world record "would force the governing bodies to reject an unprecedented performance on the world's most prestigious marathon course".^[6]

Results

Elite races

Elite Men Place Athlete Nationality Time Geoffrey Mutai  Kenya 2:03:02 Moses Mosop  Kenya 2:03:06 Gebregziabher Gebremariam  Ethiopia 2:04:53 4 Ryan Hall  United States 2:04:58 5 Abreham Cherkos  Ethiopia 2:06:13 6 Robert Kiprono Cheruiyot  Kenya 2:06:43 7 Philip Kimutai Sanga  Kenya 2:07:10 8 Deressa Chimsa  Ethiopia 2:07:39 9 Bekana Daba  Ethiopia 2:08:03 10 Robert Kipchumba  Kenya 2:08:44

Elite Women Place Athlete Nationality Time Caroline Kilel  Kenya 2:22:36 Desiree Davila  United States 2:22:38 Sharon Cherop  Kenya 2:22:42 4 Caroline Rotich  Kenya 2:24:26 5 Kara Goucher  United States 2:24:52 6 Dire Tune  Ethiopia 2:25:08 7 Werknesh Kidane  Ethiopia 2:26:15 8 Yolanda Caballero  Colombia 2:26:17 9 Alice Timbilili  Kenya 2:26:34 10 Yuliya Ruban  Ukraine 2:27:00

Wheelchair races

Men Place Athlete Nationality Time Masazumi Soejima  Japan 1:18:50 Kurt Fearnley  Australia 1:18:51 Ernst Van Dyk  South Africa 1:18:51

Women Place Athlete Nationality Time Wakako Tsuchida  Japan 1:34:06 Shirley Reilly  United States 1:41:01 Christina Ripp  United States 1:41:02

References

1. Springer, Shira (October 19, 2010). "Online, sprinters win race: Marathon fills its field in a record 8 hours". The Boston Globe. Retrieved April 25, 2011.
2. Connolly, John (April 20, 2011). "BAA on record: Geoffrey Mutai's No. 1". Boston Herald. Archived from the original on October 5, 2012. Retrieved April 20, 2011.
3. Vigneron, Peter (December 10, 2010). "New Director, and Maybe New Standards, at the Boston Marathon". Runner's World. Retrieved April 25, 2011.
4. Vigneron, Peter (February 10, 2011). "What's Behind the Keflezighi-Boston Controversy?". Runner's World. Retrieved April 25, 2011.
5. Monti, David (April 18, 2011). "Strong winds and ideal conditions propel Mutai to fastest Marathon ever - Boston Marathon report". www.iaaf.org. International Association of Athletics Federations. Archived from the original on April 23, 2011. Retrieved April 18, 2011.
6. Golen, Jimmy (April 19, 2011). "Boston wants Mutai's 2:03:02 to be world record". The Boston Globe. AP. Retrieved April 21, 2011.