The 2011 Boston Marathon took place on Monday, April 18, 2011, as the 115th official running of the

Boston Marathon The Boston Marathon is an annual marathon race hosted by eight cities and towns in greater Boston in eastern Massachusetts, United States. It is traditionally held on Patriots' Day, the third Monday of April. Begun in 1897, the event was ins ...

. On October 18, 2010, the 20,000 spots reserved for qualifiers were filled in a record-setting eight hours and three minutes.

Geoffrey Mutai Geoffrey Kiprono Mutai (born 7 October 1981) is a Kenyan long-distance runner who specialises in road running competitions. On 18 April 2011 at the Boston Marathon, Mutai ran the fastest marathon ever at the time in a time of 2 hours 3 minutes ...

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

won the men's race in a time of 2:03:02.

Background

In December 2010, Tom Grik, the President of the

Boston Athletic Association The Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) is a non-profit dedicated to organized sports, with a focus on running, in the Greater Boston area. The B.A.A. hosts such events as the Boston Marathon, the B.A.A. 5K, the B.A.A. 10K, the B.A.A. Half Mar ...

's Board of Governors, said that the BAA would focus on recruiting top Americans to the marathon. In February 2011,

Meb Keflezighi Mebrahtom "Meb" Keflezighi (; , ''Mebrāhtōm Kifl'izgī''; born May 5, 1975) is a retired American long distance runner. He is the 2004 Olympic silver medalist in the marathon and finished in fourth place in the 2012 Summer Olympics. He won ...

, the 2009 winner of the

New York City Marathon The New York City Marathon, currently branded as the TCS New York City Marathon for sponsorship reasons, is an annual marathon () that courses through the five boroughs of New York City. It is the largest marathon in the world, with 53,627 fini ...

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.

Mutai record

In recognizing

's winning time of 2:03:02 as the "fastest Marathon ever run", the

International Association of Athletics Federations World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation and International Association of Athletics Federations and formerly abbreviated as the IAAF, is the international governing body for the sport of athletics, coverin ...

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. The

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

(AP) reported that Mutai had the support of other runners who describe the IAAF's rules as "flawed". According to the ''

Boston Herald The ''Boston Herald'' is an American conservative daily newspaper whose primary market is Boston, Massachusetts, and its surrounding area. It was founded in 1846 and is one of the oldest daily newspapers in the United States. It has been awarde ...

'', race director

Dave McGillivray Dave McGillivray is an American road race director, entrepreneur, philanthropist, motivational speaker, author, and athlete. McGillivray is the founder and president of DMSE Sports, Inc., a full-service event-management organization. McGillivray ...

said he was sending paperwork to the IAAF to have Mutai's mark ratified as a world record. 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".

Results

Elite races

Wheelchair races

References

{{World Marathon Majors 2011

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Boston Marathon

Marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...