BOSTON (AP) — Sharon Lokedi couldn’t quite find her rhythm early in the 130th Boston Marathon.
The pace wasn’t quite to her liking and she began to feel herself getting tired. Then she made a decision.
“Honestly, I just went with it and I pulled through at that time I was like, I can just push it and see how it goes,” Lokedi said.
She figured things out, and then some.
Lokedi captured her second straight Boston Marathon women’s title on Monday, fending off a late challenge and powering through the 26.2 miles of the world’s oldest and most prestigious annual marathon in 2 hours, 18 minutes, 51 seconds to lead an all-Kenyan podium sweep.
It was the fourth-fastest time ever by a woman in Boston and marked the 18th win by a Kenyan woman.
“I left it all out there, that’s all I can say,” Lokedi said.
Loice Chemnung was on her shoulder late before fading and crossing second in 2:19:35. Mary Ngugi-Cooper was third in 2:20:07. Mercy Chelangat came across 23 seconds later to make it a Kenyan top 4.
Ngugi-Cooper, who finished second in Boston in 2021, said getting on the podium was like a “thank you” to a city that has always embraced her.
“This is a special race for me,” she said.
Jess McClain was the best American finisher in fifth place, crossing in 2:20:49 — the fastest time for a U.S. women in the Boston race’s history. She was also the top American last year, running the then-fourth-fastest time ever for a U.S. woman in Boston when she finished seventh in her debut. Monday’s time was 1:54 faster than her time last year and 1:13 better than the previous record held by Shalane Flanagan from 2014.
“To do that on a day like today with amazing conditions and to run the time that I knew was in me, at some point in the wheelhouse of what I can do, is really awesome,” McClain said.
McClain’s effort on Monday came after she received resolution regarding a wrong turn at the U.S. half marathon championships last month. The Phoenix resident was ahead by a wide margin with about 1.5 miles to go when she and three other runners followed the guide vehicle on a wrong turn.
Track and field’s international governing body decided to allow seven Americans — instead of the usual four — to compete at the world championships in Denmark.
Lokedi came into Monday as the overwhelming favorite for the 130th Boston Marathon after she traversed the course last year in 2:17:22 to break the 11-year-old course record and deprived runner-up Hellen Obiri of a third straight title.
In that 2025 race, Lokedi outdueled Obiri, sprinting away from her late in the race.
With Obiri opting to skip Boston and run in London later this month, Lokedi had to fend off Chemnung and another Kenyan, Irine Chepet, in the latter part of the course. Chepet ended up in sixth place.
It was just Lokedi and Chemnung to fight it out with just over four miles to go before the defending champion opened about a 10-second gap, taking the lead entering the Newton Hills.
She ran Miles 22, 23 and 24 in 4:41, 4:48 and 4:35, respectively.
But she barely had any idea what her splits were. While on the bus heading to the starting line, she realized she had forgotten her watch. She wound up borrowing one at the last minute, but didn’t check it down the stretch.
“I knew I was going fast, I just didn’t know how fast I was going,” Lokedi said. “I just wanted to run as fast as I could.”
She wouldn’t relinquish her lead, finding more speed going downhill and she was all alone by the time she reached downtown and sprinted up Boylston Street to the finish line.
“I just had to be patient,” Lokedi said. “I was very tired, I didn’t know if I had it today. ... But I felt like this was it. I was either going to go or I was going to stay.”