Running News Daily

For back of the packer, heartbreak is learning their finishes are not official, even though they have times.

Laura Caster wants to be clear: She knew what the Boston Marathon rule was about official finishers. 

She was aware she had 6 hours from the time the last finisher crossed the starting line to finish the race in order to be considered official. 

Her problem? She didn’t know what time the last finisher crossed the starting line. 

Caster, 52, from Idlewild, California, was in corral 7 of Boston’s final wave, wave 4. And she crossed the starting line at 11:25 a.m. So for how many more minutes were runners crossing the starting line behind her? “Are they a minute behind me? Five minutes?” she wondered. 

Every minute would count for her. 

As it turned out, the final starter crossed the line at 11:28 a.m., so Caster needed to finish by 5:28 p.m. to be considered official.

Caster typically runs about 5:40 for a marathon. She finished Tokyo on March 3 in 5:41:50. Tokyo was her fifth of the World Marathon Majors six-star challenge. Boston was to be her sixth. 

To gain entry to Boston, she had run for a charity, Team for Kids. She raised more than $5,000—part of the more than $40 million Boston Marathon organizers say the race raises through charity runners every year. And she treated Tokyo as a long run for Boston. 

But the weather was warm on Marathon Monday, April 15. The slower runners start later in the day. And from early on, Caster knew she was in trouble. Her stomach was upset. She couldn’t take in all the fluids she needed. She was grabbing ice every time a spectator offered it. 

Still, she plugged along, hitting every timing mat—even though the mats are rolled up along the course on pace with the 6-hour finish time. She passed halfway in 2:58:40.

At numerous points, Caster became aware of a vehicle trailing runners like her, who were going at about 6-hour pace. And she asked a volunteer at one timing mat, “How do I know if I’m going to be official?” Caster said he pointed at the car and told her she needed to finish in front of it. 

“I was like, okay. That’s a definite answer,” she said. “I’m not going to look at my watch. I’m going to focus on not throwing up and being in front of that car.” 

Caster was well ahead of the car on Commonwealth Avenue when she turned right onto Hereford Street. Just to be safe, as she approached the finish line on Boylston, Caster took a final look behind her. No sign of the official car. She crossed at 5:31 p.m., in 6:05:59. Volunteers put her in a wheelchair and sent her to the medical tent. From there, she was transported to a hospital with low blood potassium levels. She was released later that evening. 

At the hospital, she looked at the results and realized she was not official. She had a gun time and a net time, but no place. 

Caster was devastated. All the training, all the time and expense of pursuing the six stars, and she wasn’t really done. “I’ve worked for years, was so excited to have gotten to this point,” she said of her progress. “I was just leveled.” 

Caster’s coach is Meb Keflezighi, an Olympic silver medalist and the 2014 Boston Marathon champion. On the phone with him, she broke down. 

He told her, “I couldn’t be prouder of you. You missed it. We both know that you completed all six. You’re not official. But you showed grit, you showed determination.” 

Allowing roads to reopen

Caster was not alone. Chris Lotsbom, a BAA spokesman, wrote in an email to Runner’s World that 497 people appeared to have crossed the Boston finish line this year after it officially closed. Volunteers staffed the area and handed out medals for approximately 4 hours, or until 9:45 p.m., longer than the race has ever continued to note times before. 

Of those 497, many were within a few minutes or seconds of 5:28 p.m. 

Cortney Blackburn, also in pursuit of her sixth star at Boston, missed by 37 seconds. 

In an email exchange after the race with BAA officials, she asked how she was to know what the cutoff time was after she had started running. She, too, was told about the car, with flashing lights on the top, going at 6-hour pace and alerting runners if they were falling behind. Blackburn never saw the car—she finished well ahead of it—and she, too, recorded a split at every finish line mat along the way. 

Lotsbom confirmed the car was there—a “road reopening vehicle”—he called it, meant to inform runners that roads were reopening and aid stations were shutting down. 

“Without knowing specifics, I can’t comment on the individual instances referenced,” he wrote. “I can say that we are reviewing our processes and procedures in regards to final finishers for future Boston Marathons.”

Blackburn crossed the finish line and picked up two medals: the Boston Marathon medal and the World Marathon Majors six-star medal. Only later did she realize she wasn’t official in Boston’s results and therefore isn’t official in the WMM results, either. She has the medals, but no online record of her achievement.

But if the finish line remains open, and the timing continues, why not allow runners to be official? Or at least communicate a time—for example, 5:30 p.m.—that is consistent from year to year? Why use a moving target? 

Boston’s strict cutoff is part of the agreement the race has with the cities and towns along the route. The 6-hour time limit is in place “to support the communities throughout which the race runs, to allow their road reopening program to commence as planned,” Lotsbom wrote. 

“We understand we could do even more in communicating the closing time on race day and we are looking to enhance that messaging to all runners for next year to ensure everyone is clear [on] the time limit and time that the finish line will officially close on race day,” Lotsbom wrote. 

A grace period

A few runners who are much slower than 6 hours get to start in earlier waves, which gives them more time to finish. For some runners close to the 5:28 p.m. cutoff, starting in an earlier corral of wave 4 would have meant the difference between an official and unofficial finish. 

In 2015, some members of Boston’s Quarter Century Club, people with 25 or more consecutive Boston finishes, were concerned about the 6-hour limit, which was imposed for the 2016 race. So race officials moved them to Wave 2. Problem solved. 

For others, the problem remains. And the moving cutoff appears to affect more women than men, older runners more than younger ones, and many runners of color.

Hector Espinal, like Blackburn, only discovered well after the race that he wasn’t official. He wrote on Instagram on April 18, “Despite crossing the finish line, finishing the race and receiving my medals, this morning I was informed that I did not complete the Boston Marathon in the time allotted to be considered an official finisher and @wmmajors 6 Star Marathoner.” 

The post has more than 10,000 likes, and 1,000 comments, the majority of them supportive. Elite runner Mary Ngugi of Kenya, who was sixth in 2:24:24, wrote, “No no, you are a 6 time world major marathoner and a hero.”

Boston is a race that has at times struggled with its image, which critics call elitist. Spectators last year accused the race of over-policing enthusiastic fans, most of whom were people of color, at a mile 21 cheer zone, which prompted a lawsuit. Runner’s World reported in 2022 about the B.A.A.’s obscure, largely white, invitation-only membership group, which is involved with governance of the organization. 

To many observers in the running community, setting a fixed finish time would be an easy way to help the race’s image as concerned about runners of varying abilities, not just the front of the pack.

Other races in the World Marathon Majors are much more lax about their finishing times, with the exception of Tokyo, which has nine cutoff points along the route, and runners are stopped if they lag behind. There are no questions, however, about where they stand. 

But finishers of London, New York, and Chicago appear in results with times hours slower than the races’ published cutoff times. Berlin, which has a posted cutoff time of 6:15, stays open for an extra 15 to 20 minutes before the Brandenburg Gate closes, according to previous finishers. 

Blackburn won’t be back to Boston anytime soon. “I don’t know honestly if I would do it again without major changes to actually be inclusive of non-qualifying athletes,” she wrote in a message to Runner’s World. “I think [B.A.A. officials] are putting out ‘we are trying’ vibes without actually trying.”

Caster, on the other hand, plans to try again. The uncertainty while she was on the course—and the wrong information she was given about the official vehicle—were what upset her. She doesn’t know if it would have made a difference for her had she been aware of the time she had to beat. 

“But I would have liked to the opportunity to have tried,” she said. “That’s the part that I’m sore about.” 

Some victories are measured by finish times. Others are defined by the obstacles overcome simply to reach the starting line.

For American Paralympic swimmer Ali Truwit, completing the New York City Marathon represented far more than covering 26.2 miles. It was the culmination of an extraordinary journey of survival, resilience, and unwavering determination that began with a life-altering shark attack just two years earlier.

On a crisp November morning in 2025, Truwit crossed the iconic finish line wearing a carbon-fibre running blade, fulfilling a promise she had made while recovering in a hospital bed after losing her lower left leg. The emotional milestone marked another remarkable chapter in one of the most inspiring comeback stories in modern sport.

The road to that unforgettable finish began only days after Truwit celebrated a major personal achievement. In May 2023, she completed her first marathon in Copenhagen alongside her mother. Just ten days later, while enjoying a graduation trip to Turks and Caicos with former Yale swimming teammate Sophie Pilkinton, tragedy struck.

While the pair were snorkelling, a shark attacked Truwit, severely injuring her left leg. Displaying remarkable courage, the two swam approximately 55 metres back to their boat, where Pilkinton—then a medical student—quickly applied a tourniquet that stopped the bleeding and ultimately saved Truwit's life.

Doctors were forced to amputate her lower left leg on her 23rd birthday.

Even in the darkest moments of recovery, Truwit's determination never disappeared. Reflecting on having recently completed her first marathon, she joked with one of the first responders that at least she had managed to run a marathon before the attack. The responder's simple but powerful reply would remain with her throughout rehabilitation: "You'll run another one."

Those words became a source of hope during the long and demanding road back.

Only weeks after surgery, Truwit began learning to walk on a prosthetic limb before gradually returning to the swimming pool. The process was anything but straightforward. The water that had once been her sanctuary became a source of painful memories, yet she refused to allow fear to define her future.

Her relentless work ethic soon produced extraordinary results.

Less than 16 months after the attack, Truwit represented the United States at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, producing a sensational performance to claim both silver and bronze medals. Standing on the Paralympic podium was a powerful reminder of how far she had come in such a short period, and she dedicated those achievements to everyone who had helped save her life.

Still, another dream remained unfinished.

The New York City Marathon carried deep personal significance. It was not merely another endurance event but a symbolic return to the city where her life had changed forever. On November 2, 2025, she lined up in Staten Island accompanied by 13 family members and close friends, all proudly representing her nonprofit foundation, Stronger Than You Think. Among them was Pilkinton, the friend whose quick thinking had preserved her life on that unforgettable day in the Caribbean.

Together, they covered every mile of the marathon before celebrating an emotional finish that Truwit later described as being "over the moon."

Completing a marathon on a carbon-fibre running blade presents challenges far beyond those faced by able-bodied runners. The prosthetic demands greater strength from the hips, core, and remaining leg while requiring exceptional balance, coordination, and endurance. Truwit's preparation combined months of disciplined training, patience, and mental resilience as she effectively taught herself how to run again.

Her story extends well beyond medals and marathon finishes.

Inspired by her own recovery, Truwit founded Stronger Than You Think, a nonprofit organisation dedicated to helping individuals overcome physical and financial barriers following limb loss. Recognising that sports prosthetics can cost tens of thousands of dollars and are often not covered by insurance, the foundation provides financial assistance for prosthetic devices, supports water-safety education, and promotes opportunities within Paralympic sport.

The organisation has already helped provide more than 11 prosthetic limbs, delivered nearly $200,000 in direct support, and funded over 4,000 hours of water-safety lessons benefiting more than 700 young people.

Throughout her journey, Truwit has remained refreshingly honest about the emotional challenges that continue to accompany recovery. She has openly acknowledged that healing is an ongoing process and that grief can still come in waves. Rather than portraying an effortless comeback, she has demonstrated that resilience is built through persistence, even on the hardest days.

Her remarkable transformation resonates far beyond elite sport. While few people will ever experience the trauma she endured, countless runners and athletes understand the frustration of injury, disappointment, or rebuilding after adversity. Truwit's journey serves as a powerful reminder that recovery is rarely linear and that courage is often measured by the willingness to keep moving forward despite uncertainty.

Now looking ahead to the Los Angeles 2028 Paralympic Games, Truwit continues to redefine what is possible. She is no longer known simply as the swimmer who survived a shark attack. She has become a Paralympic medallist, marathon finisher, advocate, and symbol of resilience whose story continues to inspire athletes around the world.

Her journey proves that while life can change in an instant, so too can the strength of the human spirit. Sometimes the greatest triumph is not returning to the person you once were, but discovering someone even stronger than you ever imagined possible.

Sprint and hurdles superstar Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone has entered an exciting new chapter in her remarkable life, welcoming her first child with husband Andre Levrone. The four-time Olympic champion and women's 400m hurdles world record holder announced the birth of their daughter, Savannah Michelle Levrone, who was born on Sunday, July 12, 2026.

The couple shared the joyful news with an emotional message celebrating the arrival of their daughter and expressing gratitude to everyone who supported them throughout the pregnancy. Sydney described Savannah as "our blessing and our joy," while expressing excitement and faith for the future that lies ahead for their growing family.

The announcement marks a deeply personal milestone for one of the most accomplished athletes of her generation. Renowned for redefining the women's 400m hurdles through a succession of record-breaking performances, McLaughlin-Levrone now embraces a new role beyond the track as a mother.

The timing of the announcement adds another layer of significance. Just days earlier, Sydney reflected on the 10th anniversary of qualifying for her first Olympic Games at only 16 years old—a breakthrough that launched one of the most decorated careers in modern athletics. Ten years later, her journey has come full circle with another life-changing milestone, underscoring that her greatest moments continue to extend beyond sporting success.

The arrival of Savannah Michelle Levrone has been met with an outpouring of congratulations from athletes, fans, and the wider sporting community, who have celebrated the couple as they begin this new chapter together. As Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone steps into motherhood, the athletics world will undoubtedly continue to follow her inspiring journey—both on and off the track.

Ethiopia's Tsige Gebreselama produced one of the standout road running performances of the season on Sunday, storming to victory at the prestigious Boilermaker Road Race 15K in Utica, New York, with a sensational course record of 47:29.

From the opening kilometers, Gebreselama controlled the race with remarkable composure and precision, maintaining a relentless pace that ultimately erased the previous course record and secured one of the fastest performances ever recorded on the historic course. Her commanding display further reinforced her reputation as one of the world's leading road and distance runners.

The Ethiopian celebration continued as Melknat Wudu crossed the finish line in second place in 47:44, completing a dominant one-two finish for her country. Kenya's Priscah Cherono claimed third in 48:14 after a determined effort, rounding out a world-class podium in a race featuring some of the finest distance runners on the international circuit.

The battle behind the podium remained fiercely competitive. Kenya's Everlyn Kemboi finished fourth in 48:28, narrowly ahead of compatriot Selah Busienei, who clocked 48:31 for fifth. Ethiopia's Netsanet Desta and Alem Nigus Tsadik followed in sixth and seventh respectively, while Kenya's Mercy Cherono secured eighth place.

American athletes also delivered encouraging performances on home roads. Veteran Stephanie Bruce finished ninth in 50:40, with Jackie Gaughan completing the top ten in 51:02 to cap a strong showing for the host nation.

Boilermaker Road Race 15K – Women's Top 10 Results

1. Tsige Gebreselama (Ethiopia) – 47:29 (Course Record)

2. Melknat Wudu (Ethiopia) – 47:44

3. Priscah Cherono (Kenya) – 48:14

4. Everlyn Kemboi (Kenya) – 48:28

5. Selah Busienei (Kenya) – 48:31

6. Netsanet Desta (Ethiopia) – 48:46

7. Alem Nigus Tsadik (Ethiopia) – 48:48

8. Mercy Cherono (Kenya) – 50:23

9. Stephanie Bruce (United States) – 50:40

10. Jackie Gaughan (United States) – 51:02

The women's race combined exceptional depth with remarkable speed, as several athletes broke the 49-minute barrier in a contest that showcased the global strength of elite road running. Gebreselama's record-breaking run now stands as a new benchmark in the rich history of the Boilermaker 15K, adding another memorable chapter to one of the United States' most celebrated road races.

Kenya's Alex Matata delivered a sensational performance to claim the men's title at the prestigious Boilermaker Road Race 15K in Utica, New York, producing a dominant run that underlined his growing reputation as one of the world's finest road racers.

Matata surged to victory in an outstanding time of 42:24, mastering the demanding course with a display of strength, speed, and tactical brilliance. His commanding performance secured a memorable triumph in one of the United States' most celebrated road races, adding another significant international victory to his career.

Kenya's success was further highlighted by Kiprono Sitonik, who produced an equally impressive run to finish second in 42:53, completing a remarkable one-two finish for the East African nation. South Africa's Adam Lipschitz rounded out the podium after clocking 43:14 to claim third place following a determined effort.

The race featured a highly competitive international field, with American athletes Reid Buchanan and Hillary Bor finishing fourth and fifth respectively, while another Kenyan, Victor Shitsama, added to his country's strong showing by taking sixth place.

Matata's victory once again showcased Kenya's enduring strength in global road racing, as its athletes continued to dominate major international competitions through exceptional endurance, tactical awareness, and relentless finishing speed. His performance in Utica not only thrilled the spectators lining the streets but also reinforced the depth of Kenyan distance running on the world stage.

Men's Top 10 Results – Boilermaker Road Race 15K

1. Alex Matata (Kenya) – 42:24

2. Kiprono Sitonik (Kenya) – 42:53

3. Adam Lipschitz (South Africa) – 43:14

4. Reid Buchanan (United States) – 43:38

5. Hillary Bor (United States) – 43:40

6. Victor Shitsama (Kenya) – 44:02

7. Futsum Zienasellassie (United States) – 44:32

8. Charlie Sweeney (United States) – 44:37

9. Sam Lawler (United States) – 44:54

10. Tyler Berg (United States) – 45:08

With another major road racing title added to his résumé, Alex Matata continued his impressive 2026 campaign while reinforcing his status as one of the leading names on the international road racing circuit. The Boilermaker 15K once again delivered a high-quality contest, with athletes from across the globe producing memorable performances in one of the United States' most prestigious road races.

Eliud Kipchoge's remarkable World Tour continued on Brazilian soil as the Kenyan marathon icon completed the New Balance 42K Porto Alegre Marathon, crossing the finish line in 2:18:39 to place 12th overall during the second stop of his ambitious seven-continent global running tour.

Competing against a strong international field, the two-time Olympic marathon champion displayed the resilience and determination that have defined his legendary career. While the result was not among the victories that have made him one of the greatest marathon runners in history, Kipchoge once again demonstrated the unwavering commitment that continues to inspire athletes and fans across the globe.

Morocco's Zineddine Ouria claimed victory in a superb 2:08:49, with Kipchoge finishing 9 minutes and 50 seconds behind the race winner after navigating the demanding course in Porto Alegre.

Kipchoge began the race with controlled and confident pacing, reaching 5km in 15:34 before passing the halfway mark in 1:05:07. As the race entered its decisive stages, the pace gradually slowed, but the veteran marathoner pressed on with characteristic determination, completing the 42.195-kilometre challenge in 2:18:39.

For many, the story will be told through the finishing position. But for those who truly understand greatness, this journey is about far more than medals, records, or podium finishes. Kipchoge's World Tour is a celebration of the sport itself—an opportunity to connect with runners across every continent, inspire the next generation, and continue living by the philosophy that has become synonymous with his career: "No Human Is Limited."

The Brazilian appearance also carried added significance, coming shortly after Kipchoge was permanently honoured in Porto Alegre with his footprints unveiled at the entrance of Parque Harmonia—a lasting tribute to his extraordinary impact on distance running and his enduring legacy in the sport.

Once a champion. Forever an inspiration. Legends do not stop inspiring when the victories become fewer; they inspire because they never stop showing up. Through every stride, every finish line, and every challenge embraced, Kipchoge continues to prove that true greatness is measured not only by what an athlete wins, but by the lives they touch along the way.

With the second stop of his World Tour now complete, Kipchoge will turn his attention to the next chapter of his global adventure when he lines up at the Melbourne Marathon in Australia this October. Wherever he races, millions will once again follow the journey of a man whose legacy extends far beyond the stopwatch.