By Chris Chavez
January 21, 2026
The 2026 Boston Marathon men’s professional field is officially set… and it’s loaded. The excellent women’s professional field was announced on Tuesday, and the B.A.A. has followed that up with a deep men’s lineup featuring Olympic medalists, World Marathon Major winners, and 25 men who’ve broken 2:07.
You can find the full fields at the bottom of this article.
Here’s what you need to know:
International Depth
– 2025 champion John Korir, who won last year’s race in 2:04:45 and then lowered his personal best to 2:02:24 with a victory at the Valencia Marathon in December, is returning to defend his title. He is the brother of 2012 champion Wesley Korir; with John’s win last year, the Korirs became the first set of siblings to win Boston.
– The men’s side boasts a whopping 10 men who have broken 2:05 in their careers. Benson Kipruto, fresh off becoming the first man to win Chicago, Boston and New York, has the fastest PB in the field with his 2:02:16 from the 2024 Tokyo Marathon.
– Eight of the top-10 finishers from last year are back, including the entire podium. Alphonce Felix Simbu, who finished second last year, went on to win a gold medal at the World Championships in Tokyo by centimeters. His 2025 Boston run was also a photo finish (for second), with Cybrian Kotut, who took third.
– Rory Linkletter, who most recently became the first Canadian man to run under 60 minutes for the half marathon with a 59:49 in Houston, finished sixth in last year’s Boston in 2:07:02. He clocked a personal best of 2:06:49 at the Chicago Marathon later in 2025, and is now No. 7 on the North American all-time list.
– Alex Masai, the HOKA Northern Arizona Elite standout who finished third at the Chicago Marathon, will make his Boston Marathon debut.
– It’s likely that the only two men who ran faster than Korir in 2025, London and Berlin Marathon champion Sabastian Sawe and Chicago Marathon champion Jacob Kiplimo, will instead race in London.
Great Matchups Among Americans
Much like in the women’s race, the top Americans will flock to Boston due to the good appearance money offered to run a spring major on home soil.
– U.S. marathon record holders Conner Mantz, who was fourth in 2:05:08 (second-fastest performance by an American man on the course) in last year’s race, and Emily Sisson, head the American contingent. This is the first time since Bill Rodgers and Kim Merritt in 1978 that both American record holders in the marathon will race Boston.
– Mantz reunites with his training partner Clayton Young for another marathon cycle after the two veered onto different fall plans. Where Mantz went to Chicago to break Khalid Khannouchi’s American record, Young opted to race the World Championships in Tokyo, where he finished ninth in 2:10:43 in hot conditions. Young planned to run the Valencia Marathon in the fall but withdrew due to injury.
– Boston could serve as a very early preview for the 2028 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials, with Mantz racing against Alex Maier over the full distance for the first time. Maier won last year’s U.S. Half Marathon Championships, went to Düsseldorf to win his marathon debut in 2:08:33, and most recently gave Mantz’s U.S. half marathon record (59:17) a scare with his 59:23 run at the Houston Half Marathon.
– Wesley Kiptoo will return his attention to the roads after a 14th place finish at the World Cross Country Championships. It marked his first time representing the United States at a global championship. He switched allegiances from Kenya before the 2025 Chicago Marathon, where he ran 2:09:02. He was 12th in last year’s Boston Marathon in 2:08:54.
– Zouhair Talbi, who just moved to No. 3 on the U.S. all-time list in 2:05:45 to win the Houston Marathon, will double back to run Boston like he did in 2024. His best finish in Boston came in 2023 when he took fifth in 2:08:35 after attempting to go with Eliud Kipchoge and the lead pack.
Here’s a look at 2025’s top American marathoners (all courses) and where they will be running this spring:
- Conner Mantz (2:04:43, Chicago) | Boston
- Clayton Young (2:07:04, Boston) | Boston
- Matthew Richtman (2:07:57, LA) | TBD
- Ryan Ford (2:08:00, Boston) | Boston
- Alex Maier (2:08:33, Düsseldorf) | Boston
- Daniel Mesfun (2:08:51, Dublin) | Boston
- CJ Albertson (2:08:55, Ottawa) | Boston
- Wesley Kiptoo (2:09:02, Chicago) | Boston
- JP Flavin (2:09:18, Chandler) | Boston
- Turner Wiley (2:09:27, Chandler) | Boston
- Ryan Ford (2:09:37, Chicago) | Boston
- Haftu Knight (2:09:38, Congers) | TBD
- Galen Rupp (2:09:41, Chicago) | Boston
- Andrew Colley (2:09:43, Chicago) | TBD
- Ben Rosa (2:09:47, Chandler) | TBD
- Frank Lara (2:09:53, Rotterdam) | TBD
- Joel Reichow (2:09:56, New York) | TBD
- Charles Hicks (2:09:59, New York) | Boston
- Nick Hauger (2:10:18, Chandler) | Boston
- Aidan Troutner (2:10:23, Chicago) | TBD
- Christian Allen (2:10:32, Houston) | Boston
- Joe Klecker (2:10:37, New York) | Boston
Full Men’s Professional Field:
🇰🇪 Benson Kipruto – 2:02:16
🇰🇪 John Korir – 2:02:24
🇰🇪 Cybrian Kotut – 2:03:22
🇳🇱 Abdi Nageeye – 2:04:20
🇪🇹 Lemi Berhanu – 2:04:33
🇪🇹 Hailemaryam Kiros – 2:04:35
🇰🇪 Alex Masai – 2:04:37
🇹🇿 Alphonce Felix Simbu – 2:04:38
🇪🇹 Mohamed Esa – 2:04:39
🇺🇸 Conner Mantz – 2:04:43
🇮🇹 Yohanes Chiappinelli – 2:05:24
🇰🇪 Benard Biwott – 2:05:25
🇰🇪 Kennedy Kimutai – 2:05:27
🇲🇦🇺🇸 Zouhair Talbi – 2:05:45
🇩🇪 Richard Ringer – 2:05:46
🇳🇴 Sondre Moen – 2:05:48
🇺🇸 Galen Rupp – 2:06:07
🇯🇵 Akira Akasaki – 2:06:15
🇱🇸 Tebello Ramakongoana – 2:06:18
🇦🇺 Andy Buchanan – 2:06:22
🇪🇹 Gemechu Dida – 2:06:45
🇩🇪 Hendrik Pfeiffer – 2:06:45
🇨🇦 Rory Linkletter – 2:06:49
🇺🇸 Biya Simbassa – 2:06:53
🇺🇸 Clayton Young – 2:07:04
🇪🇷 Tsegay Weldlibanos – 2:07:35
🇦🇺 Patrick Tiernan – 2:07:45
🇺🇸 Ryan Ford – 2:08:00
🇺🇸 CJ Albertson – 2:08:17
🇪🇷 Yemane Haileselassie – 2:08:25
🇺🇸 Alex Maier – 2:08:33
🇧🇪 Amaury Paquet – 2:08:44
🇺🇸 Sam Chelanga – 2:08:50
🇺🇸 Daniel Mesfun – 2:08:51
🇺🇸 Wesley Kiptoo – 2:08:54
🇨🇦 Ben Preisner – 2:08:58
🇪🇨 Segundo Jami – 2:09:05
🇺🇸 Turner Wiley – 2:09:27
🇺🇸 Colin Bennie – 2:09:38
🇺🇸 Christian Allen – 2:09:58
🇺🇸🇬🇧 Charles Hicks – 2:09:59
🇪🇪 Tiidrek Nurme – 2:10:02
🇺🇸 Nick Hauger – 2:10:18
🇺🇸 Joe Klecker – 2:10:37
🇺🇸 Chris Maxon – 2:10:55
🇲🇽 Juan Luis Barrios – 2:10:55
🇺🇸 Jacob Thomson – 2:10:56
🇩🇰 Thijs Nijhuis – 2:10:57
🇮🇪 Barry Keane – 2:11:31
🇺🇸 Jason Weitzel – 2:11:45
🇺🇸 Murphy Smith – 2:11:59
🇺🇸 Charlie Sweeney – 2:12:00
🇺🇸 Robert Miranda – 2:12:07
🇺🇸 Riley Nedrow – 2:12:47
🇨🇱 Matias Silva – 2:12:48
🇺🇸 Ryan Johnson – 2:12:58
🇩🇰 Martin Olesen – 2:13:17
🇺🇸 Ben Olson – 2:13:25
🇺🇸 Ryan Eiler – 2:13:36
🇸🇮 Primoz Kobe – 2:13:36
🇺🇸 Jack Mastandrea – 2:14:02
🇺🇸 Esteban Trujillo – 2:14:32
🇺🇸 Dominic Arce – 2:14:32
🇺🇸 Kristoffer Mugrage – 2:15:01
🇺🇸 Edward Mulder – 2:15:07
🇺🇸 Michael Ottesen – 2:15:21
🇺🇸 Garrett Corcoran – 2:15:46
🇺🇸 Charlie Lawrence – 2:16:10
🇺🇸 Prescott Leach – 2:17:29
🇿🇦 Karabo L Koenaite Sr. – 2:18:03
🇹🇼 Meng-Tsung S Chu – 2:19:36
🇺🇸 Aaron Metler – 2:19:48
🇸🇪 Petter Engdahl – Debut
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Chris Chavez
Chris Chavez launched CITIUS MAG in 2016 as a passion project while working full-time for Sports Illustrated. He covered the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and grew his humble blog into a multi-pronged media company. He completed all six World Marathon Majors and on Feb. 15th, 2025 finally broke five minutes for the mile.
