Records were smashed, signs waved, cow bells rung, Colonial outfits donned, and firsts of many kinds were celebrated as tens of thousands turned out from Hopkinton to Boston.
Mother Nature helped to nudge men’s winner John Korir to a new record of 2:01:52, besting the one set in 2011 by more than a minute.
After learning what he’d done, Korir, who also won last year, said he was thinking of his supporters back home in Kenya.
“I know they’re watching,” he said in a post-race press conference. “My message today is, ‘believe in yourself, and you could be a champion in Boston. Believe in yourself, trust in God, and you can make it.’ “
Other competitors put up strong showings, as well.
Women’s elite runner Sharon Lokedi — who set the course record last year — finished first again, with a time of 2:18:51. Marcel Hug won his fourth straight men’s wheelchair title and his ninth in 11 years, and Eden Rainbow-Cooper won the women’s wheelchair race — her second victory in Boston.
“A tailwind is always perfect on this course,” Rainbow-Cooper said after the race. “I couldn’t have had a more perfect day of weather.”
Jess McClain, the top American woman for the second year in a row, placed fifth and notched her personal best time of 2:20:49. She was clearly stunned at the result. At the finish line, the 34-year-old Arizonan could be heard asking, “what just happened?”
Moroccan-born Zouhair Talbi, who became a US citizen last year, set a new American best at the Marathon, at 2:03:45. He was in good company.
“There were five-six of us Americans trying to push the pace,” he said. “I think this is just the start.”
There were lots of personal bests outside the ranks of the professional runners, too.
Prathamesh Gandhawale, 24, of Bangalore, India, set his, at 2:48:22.
“Best course on the planet,” he said after crossing the finish line at his first marathon outside his home country. “I love the energy of this city.”
The ideal conditions also led the Lenehan family of Cambridge to a milestone of its own.
Patrick and Julia Lenehan, both 33, of Cambridge, said they made a spur-of-the-moment decision to see their first Marathon in person — with a 3-week-old newborn in tow.
Patrick held the couple’s two oldest, ages 4 and 2, while the family’s newest addition napped in a stroller.
Is navigating Boston during its busiest day of the year easy on limited sleep, and with two toddlers to account for? No. But they said the pristine weather and the energy of the crowd helped.
“It’s worth it,” said Julia.
Peppered in with the crowd were a few big names, among them Bill and Hillary Clinton, there to watch daughter and first-time Boston Marathoner Chelsea finish the race.
Other notable runners included repeat Marathoner Zdeno Chara, the beloved former Bruin, and Sunita Williams, the retired astronaut and Needham native who famously once ran a marathon in space.
“Gravity is really hard,” Williams, 60, said post-race Monday. She said the energy of the crowd helped her get to the finish line.
“There were so many people on the course cheering. That makes it all worthwhile,” she said. “You don’t have that in space.”
It was a year of spectacular feats — and feet. Hingham native Terrence Concannon, known online as “Tampa Terrence,” ran the race barefoot. He had documented his months-long journey to road-proof his soles for the event on social media.
“Shout out to everybody that’s cheering me on,” he said in an update to followers on Instagram, which he appears to have filmed while running the race’s final stretch. “You can’t beat this, guys. Special city. Much love!”
It was a year of hugs, smiles, cheers, and noise. Lots of noise.
At the Restrepo family’s house in Framingham, they kept up a tradition of turning their section of the route’s Mile 6 into a destination, banging on pots, grilling food, and blasting Colombian music. This year, some of them dressed up in inflatable shark costumes.
“Every year we add a little more,” said Daniela Saboya, a 31-year-old Framingham native and family member.
A jolly sight greeted runners in West Natick: a white-bearded Santa Claus waving from the curb while leaning on a cane.
In Brookline, meanwhile, Archer O’Reilly III was proudly draped in the Colonial dress of the historic Major General Henry Knox, his eighth year honoring the distinguished patriot on Patriots Day.
O’Reilly takes this slice of history very seriously, as vice chair of Revolution 250, a nonprofit promoting the nation’s 250th birthday this year. So he wants to make sure the Marathon isn’t the only thing being celebrated.
“We get people from all over the world, and I want them to associate Massachusetts with the birth of the United States of America,” he said.
Plenty made the association. Bree Winton, 27, and her friend, Lindsay Hoffner, 26, stood along Boylston Street in full costume and bewigged, as Alexander Hamilton and George Washington, respectively.
“We wanted to do something patriotic,” said Hoffner, who lives in Boston and held aloft a sign urging people to “Run like the British are coming.”
Elsewhere, Dan Muhs, of Colorado, wore a large banana hat on his head as a reminder to his Marathon-running wife, Tina, to keep up with her electrolyte intake on race day. Plus, he said, it was all the better for his wife — and everyone else — to spot him in the crowd.
“It’s fun to have the attention,” said Muhs, 57.
Kally Murdough, 22, and Gabby Thorburn, 21, dressed up as the numbers 6 and 7, which they said was a riff on the perplexing “six-seven” meme that has been popular with young people.
“People are getting tired of it,” Thorburn, who dressed in an all blue outfit as the number 6, said of the meme. “That’s when I’m going to double down.”
As the afternoon wore on during a spectacular day for Boston sports, Red Sox fans pumped up after an 8-6 win left Fenway Park and merged with the sea of humanity watching the race in Kenmore Square.
Jack Viens, 30, who left the game just in time to watch a buddy run the last mile of the race, was among them.
“The mood in the city is just sky high right now,” Viens said.
