© Copyright – 2021 – Athletics Illustrated
The fall 2021 marathon season will be like no other. With the London and Boston marathons moved from springtime to the fall and with the usual events returning, there will be a race of note nearly every weekend.
The BMW Berlin Marathon is taking place on Sunday, Sept. 29. London, typically run in April will now go on Oct. 4. Boston has been announced for Oct. 11 – typically a President’s Day event. Chicago, offering a fast course is happening the day before on Oct. 10. Paris, Detroit, Marine Corps, and several others are expected to go in October, as well as, of course, the big iconic fall marathon in New York City on Nov. 7, as well as the fun Rock ‘n Roll Las Vegas event.

The second-fastest all-time at the distance Kenenisa Bekele, who was left off the Ethiopian marathon team for Tokyo, will be running the Berlin Marathon. One year after Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge clocked the world record (2018) in the time of 2:01.39, Bekele, in less than ideal conditions ran a 2:01:41 at Berlin. At age 39, and after one of the greatest careers in athletics, it will be interesting to see if Bekele can run sub-2:02 still.
Boston’s elite fields announced
Eight women listed have run sub-2:22 during their careers. The field is led by 31-year-old Ethiopian, Yebrgual Melese, who has run as fast as 2:19:36. Three sub-2:10 American men are slated to start the race. The lists go in order of personal best:
Women
Yebrgual Melese | 2:19:36 (Dubai, 2018) | Ethiopia |
Edna Kiplagat^ | 2:19:50 (London, 2012) | Kenya |
Mare Dibaba | 2:19:52 (Dubai, 2012) | Ethiopia |
Workenesh Edesa | 2:20:24 (Valencia, 2019) | Ethiopia |
Sutume Kebede | 2:20:30 (Tokyo, 2020) | Ethiopia |
Jordan Hasay | 2:20:57 (Chicago, 2017) | USA |
Besu Sado | 2:21:03 (Amsterdam, 2019) | Ethiopia |
Helah Kiprop | 2:21:27 (Tokyo, 2016) | Kenya |
Bedatu Hirpa | 2:21:32 (Frankfurt, 2018) | Ethiopia |
Atsede Baysa | 2:22:03 (Chicago, 2012) | Ethiopia |
Diana Chemtai Kipyogei | 2:22:06 (Istanbul, 2020) | Kenya |
Desiree Linden | 2:22:38 (Boston, 2011) | USA |
Biruktayit Eshetu | 2:22:40 (Toronto, 2019) | Ethiopia |
Tigist Abayechew | 2:22:45 (Dubai, 2020) | Ethiopia |
Purity Changwony | 2:22:46 (Ampugnano, 2021) | Kenya |
Caroline Rotich | 2:23:22 (Chicago, 2012) | Kenya |
Molly Huddle | 2:26:33 (London, 2019) | USA |
Mary Ngugi | 2:27:36 (New York City, 2019) | Kenya |
Nell Rojas | 2:28:09 (Duluth, 2019) | USA |
Paige Stoner | 2:28:43 (Chandler, 2020) | USA |
Shiho Kaneshige | 2:28:51 (Osaka, 2020) | Japan |
Dakotah Lindwurm | 2:29:04 (Duluth, 2021) | USA |
Netsanet Gudeta | 2:29:15 (Paris, 2017) | Ethiopia |
Kellys Arias | 2:29:36 (Hamburg, 2016) NR | Colombia |
Julia Griffey | 2:29:58 (Chandler, 2020) | USA |
Tish Jones | 2:31:00 (London, 2019) | Great Britain |
Bethany Sachtleben | 2:31:20 (Lima, 2019) | USA |
Dot McMahan^ | 2:31:48 (Duluth, 2011) | USA |
Sydney Devore | 2:32:39 (Pittsburgh, 2018) | USA |
Hilary Dionne | 2:33:03 (Sacramento, 2018) | USA |
Brittany Charboneau | 2:33:14 (Atlanta, 2020) | USA |
Dawn Grunnagle^ | 2:33:14 (Berlin, 2019) | USA |
Susannah Sullivan | 2:33:27 (Chandler, 2020) | USA |
Heather Lieberg^ | 2:34:07 (St. Paul, 2019) | USA |
Caitlin Phillips | 2:34:43 (Berlin, 2019) | USA |
Laurie Knowles^ | 2:36:01 (Chicago, 2016) | USA |
Courtney Olson | 2:36:21 (Sacramento, 2018) | USA |
Brittany Moran | 2:36:22 (Sacramento, 2019) | Canada |
Marie Brumelot | 2:36:23 (Chicago, 2019) | France |
Emma Spencer | 2:37:05 (Berlin, 2018) | USA |
Rachel Hyland | 2:37:22 (Sacramento, 2018) | USA |
Andrea Pomaranski | 2:37:39 (Duluth, 2021) | USA |
AnnMarie Kirkpatrick | 2:37:49 (Sacramento, 2018) | USA |
Gina Rouse^ | 2:38:41 (Atlanta, 2020) | USA |
Nina Zarina | 2:38:50 (Duluth, 2021) | USA |
Devon Yanko | 2:38:55 (Houston, 2012) | USA |
Jordan O’Dea | 2:38:57 (Lowell, 2019) | USA |
Christina Murphy^ | 2:39:15 (Columbus, 2013) | USA |
Lindsay Nelson | 2:39:33 (Chandler, 2020) | USA |
Hilary Corno^ | 2:42:14 (Chicago, 2018) | USA |
Caroline Chepkoech | Debut (1:05:07 Half) | Kazakhstan |
Monicah Wanjuhi | Debut (1:07:29 Half) | Kenya |
Elaina Tabb | Debut (1:10:44 Half) | USA |
Men
Athletes with ^ next to their names are Masters (40+) athletes
MEN’S OPEN DIVISION
MEN | PERSONAL BEST | COUNTRY |
Asefa Mengstu | 2:04:06 (Dubai, 2018) | Ethiopia |
Lemi Berhanu | 2:04:33 (Dubai, 2016) | Ethiopia |
Benson Kipruto | 2:05:13 (Toronto, 2019) | Kenya |
Wilson Chebet | 2:05:27 (Rotterdam, 2011) | Kenya |
Filex Kiprotich | 2:05:33 (Daegu, 2019) | Kenya |
Dejene Debela | 2:05:46 (Chicago, 2019) | Ethiopia |
Thomas Kiplagat | 2:06:00 (Seoul, 2019) | Kenya |
Felix Kandie | 2:06:03 (Seoul, 2017) | Kenya |
Paul Lonyangata | 2:06:10 (Paris, 2017) | Kenya |
Tsedat Ayana | 2:06:18 (Dubai, 2020) | Ethiopia |
Geoffrey Kirui | 2:06:27 (Amsterdam, 2016) | Kenya |
Yuki Kawauchi | 2:07:27 (Otsu, 2021) | Japan |
Abrar Osman | 2:07:46 (Amsterdam, 2019) | Eritrea |
Jake Robertson | 2:08:26 (Otsu, 2018) | New Zealand |
Bayelign Teshager | 2:08:28 (Los Angeles, 2020) | Ethiopia |
Abdi Abdirahman^ | 2:08:56 (Chicago, 2006) | USA |
Scott Fauble | 2:09:09 (Boston, 2019) | USA |
Colin Bennie | 2:09:38 (Chandler, 2020) | USA |
Scott Smith | 2:09:46 (Chandler, 2020) | USA |
Stephen Scullion | 2:09:49 (London, 2020) | Ireland |
Augustus Maiyo | 2:10:47 (Atlanta, 2020) | USA |
Dylan Wykes | 2:10:47 (Rotterdam, 2012) | Canada |
Parker Stinson | 2:10:53 (Chicago, 2019) | USA |
Matt McDonald | 2:11:10 (Chicago, 2019) | USA |
CJ Albertson | 2:11:18 (Chandler, 2020) | USA |
Eric Gillis^ | 2:11:21 (Toronto, 2014) | Canada |
Reid Buchanan | 2:11:38 (Chandler, 2020) | USA |
Jonas Hampton | 2:12:10 (Atlanta, 2020) | USA |
Tyler Pennel | 2:12:34 (Atlanta, 2020) | USA |
Tyler Jermann | 2:12:40 (Chandler, 2020) | USA |
Rory Linkletter | 2:12:54 (Chandler, 2020) | Canada |
Peter Gilmore^ | 2:13:13 (New York, 2006) | USA |
Sam Kosgei | 2:13:26 (Sacramento, 2017) | USA |
Jarrett Leblanc | 2:13:51 (Sacramento, 2018) | USA |
Nico Montanez | 2:14:07 (Chandler, 2020) | USA |
Tim Young | 2:14:16 (Sacramento, 2017) | USA |
Carlos Trujillo | 2:14:21 (Chicago, 2012) | Guatemala |
Luke Humphrey^ | 2:14:39 (San Diego, 2011) | USA |
Nitendra Rawat Singh | 2:15:18 (Guwahati, 2016) | India |
Daniel Ortiz Perez | 2:15:41 (Valencia, 2020) | Mexico |
Luis Carlos Rivero | 2:15:43 (Seville, 2020) | Guatemala |
Thomas Toth | 2:16:28 (Toronto, 2019) | Canada |
Pardon Ndhlovu | 2:16:47 (Houston, 2019) | Zimbabwe |
Brian Harvey | 2:17:05 (St. Paul, 2014) | USA |
Alex Taylor^ | 2:17:08 (Duluth, 2019) | USA |
David Bett | 2:17:30 (Rabat, 2016) | Kenya |
Patrick Reaves | 2:17:45 (Sacramento, 2018) | USA |
Peter Bromka^ | 2:19:04 (Sacramento, 2019) | USA |
Chip O’Hara^ | 2:21:20 (Tempe, 2020) | USA |
Eric Blake^ | 2:22:49 (Sacramento, 2018) | USA |
Blue Bendum^ | 2:23:43 (Boston, 2014) | USA |
Jemal Yimer | Debut (58:33 Half NR) | Ethiopia |
Leonard Barsoton | Debut (59:09 Half) | Kenya |
Harvey Nelson | Debut (1:01:48 Half) | USA |
Girma Mecheso | Debut (1:02:16 Half) | USA |
Paul Hogan | Debut (1:04:23 Half) | USA |