The 2011

Boston Marathon The Boston Marathon is an annual marathon race hosted by several 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 ...

took place on Monday, April 18, 2011.

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 2 ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

won the men's race in a time of 2:03:02. In recognizing Mutai's mark as the "fastest Marathon ever run", the

International Association of Athletics Federations World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body for ...

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 non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. n ...

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

Boston Herald The ''Boston Herald'' is an American 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 awarded eight Puli ...

'', race director Dave 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". On October 18, 2010, the 20,000 spots reserved for qualifiers were filled in a record-setting eight hours and three minutes. In December 2010, Tom Grik, the President of the

Boston Athletic Association The Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) is a non-profit, running-focused, organized sports association for 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 Marathon, the ...

'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 (; Ge'ez: መብራህቶም ክፍልእዝጊ, ''Mebrāhtōm Kifl'izgī''; born May 5, 1975) is a retired Eritrean-born American long distance runner. He is the 2004 Olympic silver medalist in the marathon and fin ...

, the 2009 winner of the

New York City Marathon The New York City Marathon (currently branded TCS New York City Marathon after its headline sponsor) 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 finishe ...

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.

Results

Elite races

Wheelchair races

References

{{World Marathon Majors 2011

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...

Boston Marathon

Marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , 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 are also wheelchair di ...