The 2011 Boston Marathon

Boston Marathon

The Boston Marathon is an annual marathon hosted by the U.S. city of Boston, Massachusetts, on Patriots' Day, the third Monday of April. Begun in 1897 and inspired by the success of the first modern-day marathon competition in the 1896 Summer Olympics, the Boston Marathon is the world's oldest...

took place on Monday, April 18, 2011. Geoffrey Mutai

Geoffrey Mutai

Geoffrey Kiprono Mutai is a Kenyan long distance runner who specialises in road running competitions...

 of Kenya

Kenya

Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...

 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

International Association of Athletics Federations

The International Association of Athletics Federations is the international governing body for the sport of athletics. It was founded in 1912 at its first congress in Stockholm, Sweden by representatives from 17 national athletics federations as the International Amateur Athletics Federation...

 noted that the performance was not eligible for world record status given that the course does not satisfy rules regarding elevation drop and start/finish separation. The Associated Press

Associated Press

The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...

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

Boston Herald

The Boston Herald is a daily newspaper that serves Boston, Massachusetts, United States, and its surrounding area. It was started in 1846 and is one of the oldest daily newspapers in the United States...

, 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

Boston Athletic Association

The Boston Athletic Association is a non-profit, organized sports association for the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It hosts such events as the world-renowned Boston Marathon....

's Board of Governors, said that the BAA would focus on recruiting top Americans to the marathon. In February 2011, Meb Keflezighi, the 2009 winner of the New York City Marathon

New York City Marathon

The New York City Marathon is a major annual marathon that courses through the five boroughs of New York City. It is one of the largest marathons in the world, with 45,103 finishers in 2010...

 and considered along with Ryan Hall

Ryan Hall

Ryan Hall may refer to:*Ryan Hall , long-distance track athlete and road runner*Ryan Hall , English rugby league footballer*Ryan Hall , footballer...

 to be one of the two most prominent American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 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.

Elite races

Elite Men

Position	Athlete	Nationality	Time
1	Geoffrey Mutai Geoffrey Mutai Geoffrey Kiprono Mutai is a Kenyan long distance runner who specialises in road running competitions...		2:03:02
2	Moses Mosop Moses Mosop Moses Cheruiyot Mosop is a Kenyan middle and long distance athlete. He competed for Kenya at the 2004 Olympic Games and went on to take 10,000 metres bronze at the 2005 World Championships in Athletics...		2:03:06
3	Gebregziabher Gebremariam		2:04:53
4	Ryan Hall Ryan Hall (runner) Ryan Hall is an American long distance runner. He won the marathon at the 2008 United States Olympic Trials and placed tenth in the Olympic marathon in Beijing. He holds the U.S. record in the half marathon . With his half marathon record time, he became the first U.S...		2:04:58
5	Abreham Cherkos		2:06:13
6	Robert Kiprono Cheruiyot Robert Kiprono Cheruiyot Robert Kiprono Cheruiyot is a Kenyan marathon runner. He is known as a "true marathoner" who rarely races other distances. He has finished fifth or better in the first four international marathons he has entered....		2:06:43
7	Philip Kimutai Sanga		2:07:10
8	Deressa Chimsa		2:07:39
9	Bekana Daba Bekana Daba Bekana Daba is an Ethiopian long distance runner who specialises in the 5000 metres and marathon distances....		2:08:03
10	Robert Kipchumba Robert Kipchumba Robert Kipkorir Kipchumba is a Kenyan long distance track, and road running athlete....		2:08:44

Elite Women

Position	Athlete	Nationality	Time
1	Caroline Kilel Caroline Kilel Caroline Cheptanui Kilel is a Kenyan long-distance runner who competes road running competitions, including the marathon. She was the winner at the 2011 Boston Marathon and the 2010 Frankfurt Marathon....		2:22:36
2	Desiree Davila Desiree Davila Desiree Nicole Davila is an American long-distance track runner.In the Road Running World Championships 2006 in Debrecen she finished in 43rd place and 2007 in Udine in 34th...		2:22:38
3	Sharon Cherop Sharon Cherop Sharon Jemutai Cherop is a Kenyan long-distance runner who specialises in the marathon. She won a bronze medal at the age of sixteen in the 5000 metres at the World Junior Championships...		2:22:42
4	Caroline Rotich		2:24:26
5	Kara Goucher Kara Goucher Kara Goucher is an American long-distance runner.-Personal life:Goucher was born in Queens, New York. When she was 4 years old her family moved to Duluth, Minnesota after her father was killed by a drunk driver on the Harlem River Drive...		2:24:52
6	Dire Tune Dire Tune Dire Tune is an Ethiopian long-distance runner.Tune competed in the marathon at the 2005 World Championships. At the 2006 World Road Running Championships she finished fourth in the individual competition. This was good enough to help Ethiopia win a silver medal in the team competition.On April 21,...		2:25:08
7	Werknesh Kidane Werknesh Kidane Werknesh Kidane , is an Ethiopian long distance running athlete who competes in both 5000 and 10,000 metres. She has won numerous medals at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships and represented Ethiopia at the Summer Olympics in 2000 and 2004...		2:26:15
8	Yolanda Caballero		2:26:17
9	Alice Timbilili Alice Timbilili Alice Jemeli Timbilil is a Kenyan professional long-distance runner. She is a two-time Olympian, having competed over 10,000 metres at both the 2000 and 2004 Summer Olympics....		2:26:34
10	Yuliya Ruban		2:27:00

Wheelchair races

Men

Position	Athlete	Nationality	Time
1	Masazumi Soejima Masazumi Soejima is a Paralympian athlete from Japan competing mainly in category T54 long distance events.Masazumi has competed in the marathon in both the 2004 and 2008 Summer Paralympics, 10000m in 2004, 5000m and 1500m in 2008 but it was as part of the Japanese 4x400m relay in 2004 that he won his only medal, a...		1:18:50
2	Kurt Fearnley Kurt Fearnley Kurt Fearnley OAM is an Australian wheelchair racer, who competes at the Olympic level. At the 2004 Olympic Games, he finished 5th in the demonstration sport of Men's 1500m wheelchair...		1:18:51
3	Ernst Van Dyk Ernst van Dyk Ernst Van Dyk is a South African wheelchair racer. He has won a record 9 wheelchair titles in the Boston Marathon. He is also the current world record holder for men's wheelchair marathon from his record-setting race in the 2004 Boston Marathon, which he completed in 1 hour, 18 minutes, 27 seconds...		1:18:51

Women

Position	Athlete	Nationality	Time
1	Wakako Tsuchida Wakako Tsuchida is an athlete from Tokyo, Japan, who is an accomplished women's wheelchair marathoner and ice sledge racer. She was the first professional wheelchair athlete from Japan and the first Japanese athlete to win gold medals in both the Summer and Winter Paralympics...		1:34:06
2	Shirley Reilly		1:41:01
3	Christina Ripp		1:41:02