Boston Marathon F45-49: Dot McMahan Runs Down the Field

• Dot McMahan wins in 2:33:43 (5:52/mi), claiming the F45-49 title at the 129th Boston Marathon by nearly three minutes over runner-up Edna Kiplagat.
• Edna Kiplagat finishes 2nd at 2:36:32 — a legend of the sport who won this very race in 2021, now podiuming again four years later in her age group.
• Sophie Chudley surges late, posting the 44th-fastest women's split on the 24M–40K stretch to climb from 155th to 89th among women and take 4th in F45-49 at 2:47:33.
• A deep, competitive field: 1,813 women finished in the F45-49 age group, with 15 athletes breaking 3:00 among the top 20 alone.

Dot McMahan ran a commanding race from front to back. Starting already well-placed among the women, she steadily moved up — from 30th to 27th to 24th among all women's finishers — and delivered the 21st-fastest women's split on the 21M–35K stretch when it counted most. Her 2:33:43 finish at 5:52/mi wasn't just a win; it was a statement, leaving nearly three minutes of daylight between herself and the rest of the F45-49 field.

Behind her, Edna Kiplagat turned back the clock. The Kenyan great who crossed this same finish line first in 2021 came through in 2:36:32 — her 5:58/mi pace still formidable. She was sharp early, posting the 25th-fastest women's split between 10K and 15K, but the back half of the course took its toll as she slid from 27th to 38th among women. Still, 2nd in F45-49 at Boston is no footnote for a champion of her caliber.

Laurie Knowles of Georgia rounded out the podium in 2:46:26, showing her best running early — the 63rd-fastest women's split from 5K to 10K — before settling into a 6:21/mi rhythm to hold on for 3rd. Sophie Chudley told a very different story: she ran the back end of the race far better than the front, climbing from 155th among women at the opening checkpoint all the way to 89th by the finish, powered by the 44th-fastest women's split in the 24M–40K segment. Her 2:47:33 earned 4th.

Anna Ellis (2:55:10) and Angela Carron of Michigan (2:55:31) led a tightly bunched chase pack, with seven more athletes finishing between 2:56 and 3:00. Thirteen seconds separated 8th-place Amanda Richmond (2:57:41) from 10th-place Marisa Lizak (2:57:54) — a reminder that in a field of 1,813, every second of the 26.2 miles from Hopkinton to Copley Square matters.