John Korir arrived in Hopkinton hoping to join his brother as a Boston Marathon champion. He left Boylston Street with plans to train a future winner.
Korir said he would donate the prize money from his Boston victory to the Transcend Talent Academy, which provides an education for aspiring runners who cannot afford one.
He has worked with the school in Kenya along with his brother, Wesley, who used the proceeds from his 2012 Boston win to build a hospital in their home region.
Photo: AFP
“It was in our dream to come here and win, and make history of two brothers winning Boston,” Korir said on Tuesday, a day after overcoming an early fall to become, with Wesley, the first members of the same family to win the world’s oldest annual marathon.
“One day, one time we’ll have a child from Transend Academy win Boston,” John Korir said. “That’s now our next dream: to mentor, to bring up a champion who will come one day, come and win Boston.”
The reigning Chicago Marathon champion, who had top 10 finishes in both of his previous Boston attempts, Korir broke away from the pack heading into Heartbreak Hill on Monday and ran alone for much of the final 10km to win in 2 hours, 4 minutes, 45 seconds — the second-fastest winning time in course history.
hoto: EPA-EFE
Fellow Kenyan Sharon Lokedi also took advantage of nearly perfect weather for a marathon to win the women’s race in 2 hours, 17 minutes, 22 seconds — more than 2.5 minutes faster than the previous course record.
John Korir said that he, too, might have challenged for the course record if he had another runner to push him.
However, “because I was alone, had to try my best and see how fast I could run,” he said.
John Korir ran nearly the whole race with a scraped knee and hand after getting tripped in the crowded start on East Main Street in Hopkinton, sending him sprawling headfirst down the double yellow line in the middle of the road.
His race bib was messed up even worse.
He quickly popped back up and saw his bib was torn off his shirt in three of its four corners.
He detached the last one, folded the bib and tucked it into his shorts as he rejoined the still bunched-up leaders at the rear.
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