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Records are broken, and history is made

Boston Marathon winner John Korir, of Kenya, kisses the trophy while celebrating after the race on Monday in Boston. The Associated Press

BOSTON — Sharon Lokedi broke the Boston Marathon course record, and fellow Kenyan John Korir joined his brother as a race champion on Monday as the city celebrated the 250th anniversary of the start of the Revolutionary War.

The runners followed in the hoofsteps of a Paul Revere reenactor who rode down Boylston Street and proclaimed “the runners are coming” as the race celebrated the 250th anniversary of the start of the Revolutionary War. Lokedi finished in an unofficial 2 hours, 17 minutes, 22 seconds. Korir won in 2:04:45.

On a day that also marked the 50th anniversary of Bob Hall’s pioneering wheelchair race, Marcel Hug of Switzerland claimed his eighth victory and Susannah Scaroni of the United States took the women’s title.

Lokedi finished in 2 hours, 17 minutes, 22 seconds to claim the $150,000 first prize and another $50,000 bonus for breaking the course record of 2:19:59 set by Buzunesh Deba in 2014.

Six months after winning on Chicago’s flatter course, Korir finished in 2:04:45 — the second-fastest winning time in Boston history as the runners took advantage of perfect marathon weather. And he did it despite getting tripped up from behind near the start and falling.

He got up to rejoin the lead pack at the rear.

The race had about the same number of no-shows as last year, dispelling concerns that international runners would skip the race in the face of increased U.S. border scrutiny.

A total of 28,928 runners started the 129th edition of the marathon on Monday, from a field of 31,778 entrants. That leaves 2,850 who registered but did not cross the starting line in Hopkinton, or less than 9%.

In last year’s field, there were 2,838 who failed to start.

To earn a Boston Marathon bib number, most runners need to submit a qualifying time from another 26.2-mile race. Though many treat it as a lifetime goal not to be abandoned lightly, no-shows can occur for reasons ranging from injury to the 2010 Icelandic volcano eruption that shut down flights and prevented hundreds of European runners from traveling to the U.S.

Although the race was full, with entries from 128 countries, scattered reports indicated that some foreign runners might stay away for political reasons or fears of border hassles.

International visits to the U.S. have plummeted, with Canadians among those avoiding U.S. travel in response to President Donald Trump’s tariff talk and threats of annexing the country as a 51st state.

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said last week that everyone should feel welcome.

“Regardless of what’s happening at other levels, and particularly now at the federal level, in Boston we welcome everyone,” Wu said Friday at a public safety media briefing not far from the finish line. “We seek to be a home for everyone.”

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