Samuel breaks Boston record as Belayneh wins for third time

Habtom Samuel won the Boston Half Marathon 2026 in 59:49, breaking the race record on Sunday 8 November in Boston, Massachusetts. In the women’s race, Fentaye Belayneh won in 1:09:14 to claim her third consecutive victory at the event.

The Eritrean broke away after 15 kilometres and crossed the finish line alone. The race, organised by the Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.), was scheduled to start at 8:00 and covered a distance of 21.0975 kilometres (13.1 miles).

Samuel breaks the race record

Samuel, 22, took 45 seconds off the record set by Lelisa Desisa in 2013. The B.A.A. also considers his time the first sub-hour half marathon recorded in Massachusetts.

The Eritrean’s attack came shortly after 15 kilometres. He ran alone from there to Franklin Park, finishing 1:14 ahead of Kenya’s Andrea Kiptoo, second in 1:01:03. Abel Kipchumba, also from Kenya, completed the podium in 1:01:16.

Kiptoo improved on his third-place finish from the previous edition. His personal best was 59:11, set in Berlin in 2026. Kipchumba, meanwhile, returned to a race he won in 2023 in 1:01:32, with a personal best of 58:07 set in Valencia in 2021.

“I knew the first 10 km were very flat and downhill, but the second half was the hardest part of the course,” he said. “I told myself: ‘I’m going to fight for the race record!’” (translation).

A season of victories for the Eritrean

The Boston performance added to a season in which Samuel had already broken the Houston course record. He won there in 59:01 on his half marathon debut, while still competing for the University of New Mexico. He turned professional in July.

In 2026 he also won the Beach to Beacon 10K in a personal best of 27:40 and the Falmouth Road Race, where his 30:53 was the first men’s time under 31 minutes on that course. Before travelling to Boston, he won the Abbott Dash to the Finish Line 5K in New York, where he ran 13:31 on 31 October.

Belayneh makes her move on the final climb

The women’s race began with Kassie Parker at the front and Belayneh in the group, which passed 10 kilometres in 33:02. The Ethiopian waited until the final climb towards the finish to attack and overtake Kenya’s Winfred Mbithe, who finished second in 1:09:16. According to Marathon Handbook, Ethiopia’s Sintayehu Lewetegn was third in 1:09:26.

Belayneh became the first woman to win the Boston Half three times in succession. Her previous victories had also been close: she won by one second in 2024 and by two over Melknat Wudu in 2025.

The Ethiopian arrived in Boston with a personal best of 1:04:49, set in Houston in 2026. “I come here because I know the event is great. I love the atmosphere and I had already won twice,” she explained through an interpreter (translation).

Leading Americans and other results

Among the American runners, Jack Aho and Sydney Vaught were the fastest in their respective races. Aho set the fastest American time at the event; Vaught, the national 10,000 metres champion in July, made her debut over the distance.

• Jack Aho: sixth in 1:01:53, four seconds below Chandler Gibbens’ 1:01:57 in 2025.
• James Mwaura: ninth in 1:03:10 in his first half marathon. He competes for the B.A.A. High Performance Team.
• Sydney Vaught: fifth in 1:09:44.
• Megan Hasz Sailor: seventh in 1:09:53, having been the first American in 2024 and 2025.
• Zaida Ramos: the Peruvian finished in the top ten.

Vaught described the course as “really demanding” because of the hills. “I didn’t really know what to expect, so I was very happy,” she added (translation).

An undulating course through the Emerald Necklace

The start and finish were in Franklin Park. Between the two, the route passed through the Emerald Necklace park system, taking in Riverway, Jamaicaway and Arborway.

The undulating profile played a part throughout the race, particularly in the outcome of the women’s event. The course also offered views of Jamaica Pond, Willow Pond and Olmsted Park.

The organisers had planned water stations approximately every two miles from mile 2, sports drink at miles 6, 9 and 11.1, and gel near mile 6. Medical staff were also on hand along the course to deal with emergencies and non-critical injuries.

Este artículo contiene enlaces de afiliado: si compras a través de ellos, se genera una pequeña comisión sin coste adicional para ti. Más información.