In a deep American field that included a past champion, an Olympic marathoner, and a past American record holder, it was Jess McClain who crossed the line first at today’s Boston Marathon.
McClain, 33, placed seventh overall in a time of 2:22:43, a 5:27 mile pace. That’s three minutes faster than her personal best of 2:25:46, set at the 2024 U.S Olympic Marathon Trials, where she was the surprise fourth-place finisher. It was also less than a minute off Shalane Flanagan’s American course record of 2:22:02, set in 2014.
For much of the race, it looked like Annie Frisbie, 28, would be the first American across the line. Frisbie was the only American in the lead pack through the 10K. She hit the halfway mark in 1:09:41 and was in sixth place—a little less than 3 minutes behind the leaders—through mile 20.
McClain held back, but wasn’t far behind. “I’m from Phoenix, and I knew that it was likely going to feel a little bit warmer towards the latter half of the race, and I’ve been training super consistently on hills. I thought if I was a little bit patient early on, it would pay off,” she told reporters after the race.
She stayed with fellow Americans Emma Bates and Sara Hall, a trio that hit the halfway mark in 1:10:08. “We just worked together and soaked the crowds in and tried to be patient and work our way up,” she said.
In the Newton Hills, McClain began inching her way up, gradually closing the gap with Frisbie. By mile 21, she was just 13 seconds behind Frisbie. At mile 24, she was only 6 seconds back. In the next half-mile, she finally made her pass.
“Once I got over Heartbreak Hill and hit the Citgo sign, I just used the total Boston Strong energy coming down the final stretch,” McClain told WCVB after the race. “It was magical.”
McClain ran the final mile in 5:15. Frisbie covered it in 5:43 and finished 38 seconds and one place behind, eighth in 2:23:21. The time was also a huge personal best for Frisbie, whose previous top mark was the 2:26:18 she ran in her 2021 marathon debut in New York City.
A standout at Stanford University and former professional track athlete for the Brooks Beasts, McClain had stepped away from elite running for several years during COVID before returning and moving up to the marathon in 2022. She signed a new sponsorship deal with Brooks after her Trials success. In her first World Major—New York City in the fall—she ran 2:27:19 mdash;Frisbie’s teammate at Minnesota Distance Elite—was 16th in 2:26:09.
Training for Boston was slightly easier than New York, she told Runner’s World before the race, because she didn’t have to get up so early to beat the brutal summer heat in training.
She also made other changes to her routine. She was previously self-coached, but since November, has been working with David Roche. Under his guidance, she’s taken a lower-mileage, more speed-focused approach and raced more shorter distances, including a 5,000-meter indoor race in Boston in January and the TEN, a 10,000-meter race in California at the end of March, where she ran 30:59.71 for seventh place.
“I think she can get American records on the road. To get there, we need to keep raising the speed ceiling. So while Boston was the immediate goal, I also wanted to think long-term about how she can be set up to run what she’s capable of,” Roche told Runner's World by text after the race. That—plus the busy job she works at a non-profit—meant she needed less volume to tackle speed workouts on fresher legs,.
Her final 20-mile long run this month, which alternated miles at 10K and faster effort in between blocks of marathon effort and included four 1-minute hard hill surges near the end, “pointed toward an imminent breakthrough,” he said, and hints of even more potential in the future.
Fast and Flat Boston Qualifying Marathons.
Bates, 32, who was the top American here for the past two years, was the next American across the line, placing 13th in 2:25:10. Olympic marathoner Dakotah Popehn, 29—Frisbie’s teammate at Minnesota Distance Elite—was 16th in 2:26:09.
And in her 12th Boston and final professional marathon—a decision she announced this morning—2018 champion Des Linden, 41, ran 2:26:19 to place to place 17th. Hall, who turned 42 last week, finished 18th in 2:26:32.
Finishing top American was especially meaningful for McClain after a successful but somewhat bittersweet past year, she said. In addition to finishing in the alternate slot at the Olympic Marathon Trials, she also placed fourth in the 10,000 meters at the U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials last June and fourth again at last month’s USA Half Marathon Championships, each time missing a national team by one spot.
Up until now, McClain has balanced running with her non-profit job, an approach that’s worked for her: “I am the kind of athlete that loves balance and loves having different buckets of life to pour myself into,” she said. But after today’s breakthrough, she may reconsider the percentage she’s dedicating to each area.
“I probably have to take a step back and look at 2028 and what it’s going to take to be on the podium at the majors and make that [Olympic] team in 2028,” she said. “Maybe that’s dialing a little bit back in the other realms of my life and going a lot more in on running.”
Cindy is a freelance health and fitness writer, author, and podcaster who’s contributed regularly to Runner’s World since 2013. She’s the coauthor of both Breakthrough Women’s Running: Dream Big and Train Smart and Rebound: Train Your Mind to Bounce Back Stronger from Sports Injuries, a book about the psychology of sports injury from Bloomsbury Sport. Cindy specializes in covering injury prevention and recovery, everyday athletes accomplishing extraordinary things, and the active community in her beloved Chicago, where winter forges deep bonds between those brave enough to train through it.
