Winner 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 annual marathon and ranks as one of the world's best-known road racing events. It is one of five World Marathon Majors.

In the 100th running of the Boston Marathon in 1996, the number of participants reached 38,000. The Boston Marathon was originally a local event, but its fame and status have attracted runners from all over the world. The first cash prize for winning the marathon was awarded in 1986.

Women were not allowed to enter the Boston Marathon officially until 1972. Roberta "Bobbi" Gibb is recognized as the first woman to run the entire Boston Marathon (in 1966). Besides the Olympic trials, Boston is the only major American marathon that requires a qualifying time. Through 2005, the race began at noon, (wheelchair race began at 11:25 a.m., and the elite women at 11:31 a.m.) at the official starting point in Hopkinton, Massachusetts.

The course runs through 26.22 miles (42.195 km) of winding roads, following Route 135, Route 16, Route 30 and city streets into the center of Boston, where the official finish line is located at Copley Square, alongside the Boston Public Library. The race runs through eight Massachusetts cities and towns: Hopkinton, Ashland, Framingham, Natick, Wellesley, Newton, Brookline, and Boston.

The Boston Marathon is considered to be one of the more difficult marathon courses because of the Newton hills, which culminate in Heartbreak Hill near Boston College. Heartbreak Hill is an ascent over 0.4 mile (600 m) of the Boston Marathon course, between the 20 and 21 mile marks, in the vicinity of Boston College. The nickname "Heartbreak Hill" originated with an event in the 1936 race. On only four occasions have world record times for marathon running been set in Boston.

In 2004 Ernst van Dyk of South Africa set a men's wheelchair marathon world record time of 1:18:27. After winning the Boston Marathon on Monday for a record ninth time, South African wheelchair athlete Ernst Van Dyk will compete at the 2010 Virgin London Marathon on Sunday, April 25.