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Boston's Morning Newsletter
Boston Marathon superlatives: Here are the official (and unofficial) 2023 winners
Editor's Note: This is an excerpt from WBUR's daily morning newsletter, WBUR Today. If you like what you read and want it in your inbox, sign up here.
The city’s spirit shone through the weather yesterday — from the many moments of camaraderie and support all along the Boston Marathon course, to perseverance through downpours at the finish line, to dozens of fans making the most of a 90-minute rain delay at Fenway Park. (And hey, don’t forget about the Bruins, who took a 1-0 lead last night in their first-round playoff series.)
Let’s start with some superlatives from yesterday:
While anyone who runs 26.2 miles is a winner in my eyes, we have our official Boston Marathon winners — and it was a sweep for Kenya.
- Men’s race: Defending champion Evans Chebet won the Marathon again on Monday with a time of 2:05:54. Despite the weather, it’s the third fastest time in the race’s history!
- Women’s race: Hellen Obiri won the women’s race in just her second-ever marathon, finishing in an unofficial 2:21:38. (Usually, Obiri focuses on shorter distances, as a two-time Olympic silver medalist in the 5,000 meters.) Obiri’s 7-year-old daughter gave her mom a humbling post-race review: “good.”
- Wheelchair race: Marcel Hug of Switzerland did it again, taking gold for the men’s wheelchair race in 1:17:06 — a new personal (and course) record. New to the podium was women’s race winner Susannah Scaroni. The American overcame a loose wheel (!) to win her first Boston title, crossing the line in 1:41:45.
- First nonbinary winner: Vermont’s Kae Ravichandran finished first in the newly created division with a time of 2:38:57.
- Top American runners: Oregon’s Scott Fauble finished seventh with a time of 2:09:44, 20 seconds behind marathon world record holder Eliud Kipchoge, who struggled with the hills and fell back to sixth after leading much of the race. Meanwhile, on the women’s side, Colorado’s Emma Bates came in fifth after leading the pack for much of the beginning of the race with a time of 2:22:10 — a Boston record for American women.
- Fastest Bostonians: The inaugural awards for the city’s fastest marathoners went to 23-year-old Northeastern grad student Vinny Castronuovo (2:25:56) and 28-year-old Charlestown resident Shannon Lamarre (2:54:34).
- Tallest runner: The 6-foot-9 Bruins legend Zdeno Chara came in with a time of 3:38:23 — and looked pretty happy about it.
- Best signs: The competition in this field is always tough. But my unofficial award goes to this sad-but-very-true sign.
- Most audacious decision: The guy who ate half a donut mid-run.
- Goodest boy (and girl): A tie between all of these golden retrievers.
- Oh, and of course there was a turkey on the course. We don’t really have an award for that. Just thought you should know.
Fun’s over: It may not be such a good morning if you haven’t filed your taxes yet; today’s the state and federal deadline. If you have been dragging your feet, here’s how to file your extension request ASAP.
- What if you can’t pay? Luz Arevalo, an attorney with Greater Boston Legal Services, told WBUR’s Wilder Fleming that the penalty for filing late is higher than the penalty for paying late. “So always, always, always file on time. Even if you don’t have the ability to pay right then and there,” she said.
- Heads up: Even with an extension, you could face a fine. So next year, try to be on time to save your wallet from some unneeded pain.
Attention, Red Line riders: Downtown subway service is closing early tonight through Thursday as MBTA crews prepare for larger diversions the next two weekends. That means shuttle buses will begin replacing subway service between Park Street and JFK/UMass at 8:45 p.m. the next three nights. (You’ll have to walk over to Downtown Crossing to catch the bus if you normally use Park Street.)
- The nighttime diversion is the primer for this weekend’s Red Line closure between Kendall/MIT and JFK/UMass so crews start track repairs to lift slow zones by South Station. A similar diversion is also scheduled the weekend of April 29-30.
P.S.— It’s Earth Week! To mark the occasion, WBUR’s daily podcast The Common is taking a look at how climate change is already impacting our local communities. Host Darryl C. Murphy takes a trip to Chinatown, hops on a boat to the Boston Harbor Islands and strolls the South End to learn more about what climate change looks like now. Or, come to 890 Commonwealth Ave for a brand new series of CitySpace events focused on the environment and climate change. See the full lineup here.
