Boston, Massachusetts: Samuel Runs 59:49 Boston Half Record as Belayneh Wins Third Straight Title

More than 7,400 runners took part in the Boston Half on Sunday, starting and finishing at Franklin Park, and the fastest of them rewrote the event record book. Habtom Samuel of Eritrea won the men's open race in 59 minutes, 49 seconds, the first sub one hour half marathon ever run in Massachusetts, and Fentaye Belayneh of Ethiopia won the women's race in 1:09:14 to become the first woman to win this race three years in a row, the Boston Athletic Association said.

Samuel breaks away after 15K

Samuel went clear of the pack shortly after 15 kilometers and ran the final four miles along the Emerald Necklace alone. His time cut 45 seconds off the event record of 1:00:34, set 13 years ago by two time Boston Marathon champion Lelisa Desisa. Andrea Kiptoo of Kenya was second in 1:01:03 and Abel Kipchumba of Kenya, the 2023 champion, was third in 1:01:16. Jack Aho took top American honors in sixth place in 1:01:53, the fastest time by an American in the history of the event.

"I knew when we were just crossing the 10K mark, we were on for the course record," Samuel said. "I knew the first 10K was very flat and downhill, but the second half was the hardest part of the course. I said, I'm going to fight for the course record."

Belayneh sprints to a three-peat

Belayneh stayed patient while American Kassie Parker led early, then used her finishing sprint on the final hill into Franklin Park to beat Winfred Mbithe of Kenya by two seconds. Mbithe finished in 1:09:16 and Sintayehu Lewetegn of Ethiopia was third in 1:09:26. Sydney Vaught, running her first half marathon, was fifth and the top American woman in 1:09:44.

"I come here because I know the event is great," Belayneh said through an interpreter. "I love the atmosphere, and I've won twice before."

Records in the wheelchair races too

Daniel Romanchuk of the United States won the men's wheelchair race in 45:53, breaking his own event record of 47:38 from 2024. It was his third Boston Half title in the last five years. Yen Hoang won the women's wheelchair race in a photo finish with Jenna Ayers. Both were timed in 1:02:54, and Hannah Dederick was third in 1:03:38.

Athletes from 104 countries and 46 states ran the 13.1 mile course through the Emerald Necklace park system. More than 600 runners raced for Team Dana-Farber and raised nearly $1 million for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Jimmy Fund. Mayor Michelle Wu started the race at Franklin Park. More than 3,500 of the runners were completing the B.A.A. Distance Medley, the three race series that also includes the Boston 5K in April and the B.A.A. 10K in June.