With a time of 2:08:37, Meb Keflezighi became the first American man to win the Boston Marathon since Greg Meyer in 1983. Though Keflezighi led by as much as a minute and a half for much of the race, Kenyan Wilson Chebet narrowed the gap to as little as six seconds with just two miles to go. But the 38-year-old Keflezighi surged over the last mile to hold on for the win and a new personal best over 26.2 miles. It was also Keflezighi’s best finish at Boston since his third place in 2006. Ahead of the race, he ran us through the moves required to win—and stuck to them precisely today.
Earlier in the day, Kenyan Rita Jeptoo won the women’s race for a second year in a row, setting a new course record of 2:18:57. American Shalane Flanagan pushed a blistering pace for the first half of the race until Jeptoo and a group of four other women surged ahead. Flanagan finished in 2:22:02, a new American record.