Editing Boston Marathon (section)

===Records===
[[Image:Boston Marathon 2010 in Wellesley.JPG|thumb|Participants in the 2010 Boston Marathon in [[Wellesley, Massachusetts|Wellesley]], just after the halfway mark]]
Because the course drops {{convert|459|ft|m}} from start to finish<ref name="Golen2011"/> and the start is quite far west of the finish, allowing a helpful tailwind, the Boston Marathon does not satisfy two of the [[Marathon world record progression#Criteria for record eligibility|criteria necessary for the ratification of world]]<ref name="Malone"/> or American records.<ref name=rules/>

At the 2011 Boston Marathon on April 18, 2011, [[Geoffrey Mutai]] of [[Kenya]] ran a time of 2:03:02, which was the fastest ever marathon at the time (since surpassed by [[Eliud Kipchoge]]'s 2:01:39 in Berlin 2018). However, due to the reasons listed above, Mutai's performance was not ratified as an official world record. [[Bezunesh Deba]] from Ethiopia set the women's course record with a 2:19:59 performance on April 21, 2014. This was declared after Rita Jeptoo from Kenya was disqualified following a confirmed doping violation.<ref name=records>{{cite web
|url=http://www.baa.org/races/boston-marathon/boston-marathon-history/course-records.aspx
|title=Boston Marathon History: Course Records
|work=Boston Athletic Association website
|access-date=October 16, 2017
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171016174215/http://www.baa.org/races/boston-marathon/boston-marathon-history/course-records.aspx
|archive-date=October 16, 2017
|url-status=live
}}</ref>

Other course records include:
*Men's Masters: [[John Campbell (runner)|John Campbell]] (New Zealand), 2:11:04 (set in 1990)
*Women's Masters: [[Firiya Sultanova-Zhdanova]] (Russia), 2:27:58 (set in 2002)
*Men's Push Rim Wheelchair: Marcel Hug (Switzerland), 1:17:06 (set in 2023)
*Women's Push Rim Wheelchair: Manuela Schär (Switzerland), 1:28:17 (set in 2017)
*Men's Handcycle: Tom Davis (United States), 0:58:36 (set in 2017)
*Women's Handcycle: [[Alicia Dana]] (United States), 1:18:15 (set in 2023)<ref name=2023HC.Boston.com>{{cite news|url=https://www.boston.com/sports/boston-marathon/2023/04/17/boston-marathon-handcycling-duos-champions/#:~:text=Zachary%20Stinson%20and%20Alicia%20Dana%20take%20Boston%20Marathon%20handcycle%20titles|title=Zachary Stinson and Alicia Dana take Boston Marathon handcycle titles: Dana set a course record for women's handcycling|work=Boston.com|access-date=2023-04-18|date=April 17, 2023|first=Peyton|last=Doyle|archive-date=December 6, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231206190621/https://www.boston.com/sports/boston-marathon/2023/04/17/boston-marathon-handcycling-duos-champions/#:~:text=Zachary%20Stinson%20and%20Alicia%20Dana%20take%20Boston%20Marathon%20handcycle%20titles|url-status=live}}</ref>

On only four occasions have world record times for marathon running been set in Boston.{{Citation needed|date=April 2011}} In 1947, the men's record time set was 2:25:39, by [[Suh Yun-Bok]] of [[South Korea]]. In 1975, a women's world record of 2:42:24 was set by [[Liane Winter]] of [[West Germany]], and in 1983, [[Joan Benoit Samuelson]] of the United States ran a women's world record time of 2:22:43. In 2012 [[Joshua Cassidy]] of Canada set a men's wheelchair marathon world-record time of 1:18:25.

In 2007, astronaut [[Sunita Williams]] was an official entrant of the race, running a marathon distance while on the [[International Space Station]], becoming the first person to run a marathon in space. She was sent a specialty bib and medal by the B.A.A. on the [[STS-117]] flight of the [[Space Shuttle Atlantis|Space Shuttle ''Atlantis'']].<ref name="marathon">{{cite web |url=http://www.nbcnews.com/id/17862610 |title=Astronaut to run Boston Marathon — in space |access-date=December 19, 2007 |work=[[NBC News]] |year=2007 |author=Jimmy Golen for [[The Associated Press]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140104122547/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/17862610/ |archive-date=January 4, 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="release">{{cite web |url=http://www.nasa.gov/centers/johnson/news/releases/2007/H07-078.html |title=NASA Astronaut to Run Boston Marathon in Space |access-date=December 19, 2007 |publisher=NASA |year=2007 |author=NASA |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071109190134/http://www.nasa.gov/centers/johnson/news/releases/2007/H07-078.html |archive-date=November 9, 2007 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The race's organizers keep a standard time clock for all entries, though official timekeeping ceases after the six-hour mark.<ref>{{cite news |work=Runner's World |last=Lorge Butler |first=Sarah |title=Controversy Arises Over Boston’s Moving 6-Hour Results Cutoff |date=8 May 2024 |url=https://www.runnersworld.com/news/a60733155/boston-marathon-6-hour-results-cutoff/ |accessdate=31 December 2024}}</ref>