2024 Boston Marathon: Who are the top American athletes to watch on Monday?

CJ Albertson, Des Linden, Emma Bates, and Sam Chelanga are a few of the top American runners to watch.

Des Linden won the 2018 Boston Marathon with a time of 2:39:55. Photo by CJ GUNTHER/EPA

April 11, 2024

4 minutes to read

The 128th Boston Marathon boasts one of the top elite fields in the storied race’s history.

Kenya’s Evans Chebet will aim to become the first man in 16 years — and fifth ever — to win the world’s oldest marathon three times in a row, while fellow Kenyan Hellen Obiri is also looking to defend her title.

While both Chebet and Obiri are considered the early favorites entering the 2024 race, the Boston Marathon’s unpredictable weather and elevation changes make it a daunting 26.2-mile undertaking for even the most accomplished runners — as Eliud Kipchoge can attest to.

As such, don’t be surprised if several other runners in these stacked elite fields make a run at first place on Boylston Street.

With the U.S. Olympic marathon trials taking place in early February, several top American runners opted to not take part in the 2024 Boston Marathon.

Still, there are many top American athletes who will take part in the historic gauntlet from Hopkinton to Copley Square on Patriots Day.

Here’s a look at some of the top American athletes to keep tabs on during Monday’s race.

Sam Chelanga

A Kenyan-born American runner, Chelanga boasts the top marathon time among elite athletes in this marathon field with a time of 2:08:50 at the 2023 Chicago Marathon. This will mark Chelanga’s second Boston Marathon, as he placed 30th (2:20:20) in the race in 2023. Chelanga’s older brother, Joshua, placed third at the 2001 Boston Marathon.

Elkanah Kibet

Fresh off a fourth-place finish at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials, Kibet will be looking to carry that momentum into Boston. Kibet has a pair of top-ten finishes in Boston (8th place in 2018, 9th in 2022) and placed 11th at last year’s New York City Marathon.

Matt McDonald

A member of the Team B.A.A. High Performance team, McDonald’s best marathon time is 2:09:49 (2022 Chicago Marathon), which stands as the third-best result among U.S. athletes in this marathon field.

McDonald had a strong showing at the 2023 Boston Marathon, finishing in 10th place with a time of 2:10:17. The only American runner who posted a better time than McDonald last April was Scott Fauble (2:09:44), who decided not to run in any marathon between the Olympic trials in February and the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

CJ Albertson

Albertson has plenty of momentum on his side entering Patriots Day, especially after finishing fifth in the U.S. Olympic Team Trials with a time of 2:10:07. Albertson led the field by more than two minutes at the halfway mark of the 2021 Boston Marathon, but ultimately fell to 10th place with a final time of 2:11:44. The world record holder in the 50K run (2:38:43), Albertson posted times of 2:10:23 and 2:10:33 at the 2022 and 2023 Boston Marathons.

Meb Keflezighi

A decade after winning the Boston Marathon in 2014, Keflezighi is once again back in Boston for the 128th rendition of the storied race. A year after the Boston Marathon bombings, Keflezighi became the first American man to win since 1983.

Keflezighi announced in February he was running to celebrate his victory and “to illuminate the way for the MEB Foundation,” which aims to promote “youth health, education, and fitness” nationally and abroad, per its website.

Emma Bates

Bates has seen her stock soar over the last few years as one of the top U.S. distance runners. After finishing second in the 2021 Chicago Marathon with a time of 2:24:20, Bates posted a fifth-place finish of 2:22:10 during the 2023 Boston Marathon. Her result at the 2023 race fell just short of the fastest time by an American woman on this course, narrowly missing Shalane Flanagan’s record of 2:22:02.

Bates did suffer a setback last fall, as she suffered a torn plantar fascia while running the 2023 Chicago Marathon. That injury forced her to miss the Olympic trials, but she’ll make her anticipated return on Monday in Hopkinton.

Sara Hall

An accomplished distance runner, Hall is coming off of a fifth-place finish at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials, finishing in 2:26:06. That mark set an American masters marathon record, bettering the 2:27:35 Des Linden ran in Chicago in 2023.

Her personal best marathon time is 2:20:32 during the Marathon Project in December 2020 — making her the fifth-fastest American woman in history.

Hall, who finished 17th overall at the 2023 Boston Marathon (2:25:48) is running the 2024 race in support of “Loans for Women in Ethiopia”. “[The loans] give people the dignity to provide for their own families and work their way out of poverty,” Hall said on X.

Caroline Rotich

The Kenyan-born Rotich began representing the USA in October 2023 — finishing sixth at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials with a time of 2:26:10. Rotich has one Boston Marathon win on her resume, pacing the pack with a 2:24:55 time during the 2015 race. Her personal best for a marathon is 2:23:22 — good enough for a fifth-place finish at the 2012 Chicago Marathon.

Des Linden

Another familiar face in Boston, Linden is set to take part in her 11th Boston Marathon on Monday. In 2018, Linden became the first American woman to win Boston in more than 30 years — posting a time of 2:39:55 on a rain-soaked course. The two-time Olympian finished fourth overall among American runners during the 2023 Boston Marathon with a time of 2:27:18.

Daniel Romanchuk

A para-athlete who took home a gold medal in the 400 meters (T54) at the 2020 Summer Paralympics, Romanchuk has two Boston Marathon wins on his resume — winning the 2019 race with a time of 1:21:36 and the 2022 race in 1:26:58. He became the youngest winner of that race, as well as the first American to win Boston since 1993.

Editor’s Note: The initial story noted that Romanchuk incorrectly had one Boston Marathon win in his career. He won two Boston Marathons in 2019 and 2022.

Susannah Scaroni

Scaroni will look to defend her title in Boston after winning the women’s wheelchair division with a final time of 1:41:45 during the 2023 race. Scaroni has been a familiar name atop the Boston Marathon leaderboard over the years — finishing fourth overall in 2016, third in 2014, 2015, and 2017, and second in 2018 before taking the crown last April.

Conor Ryan

Sports Writer

Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.

2024 Boston Marathon: Who are the top American athletes to watch on Monday?