Boston Marathon 2024: Becky Backstrom Rules the F65-69 Field

• Backstrom wins in 3:26:13 (7:52/mi), finishing nearly two minutes clear of runner-up Erica Rubenstein (3:28:04, 7:56/mi) in a 216-woman F65-69 field.
• Rubenstein led early — entering from a strong women's field position of 1,562 — but faded steadily through the back half, slipping from 1,842nd among women at 20K to 2,194th at the finish.
• Backstrom surged late, climbing from 2,082nd among women at the 35K mark to 1,927th by mile 21 — then posted the 1,292nd-fastest women's split on the 21M→35K segment, a strong move through the Newton Hills stretch.
• Gwen Jacobson (4th, 3:34:34) ran the 2,116th-fastest women's split on the 23M→24M segment, a late push that nearly caught Leslie Cohen (3rd, 3:33:59) — just 35 seconds separated them at the line.

Becky Backstrom of Washington took the F65-69 title on Patriots' Day with a commanding 3:26:13, averaging 7:52 per mile across the 26.2-mile point-to-point from Hopkinton to Copley Square. Her race was defined by a powerful second half — she entered the Newton Hills stretch ranked 2,082nd among women and came out the other side having moved up over 150 spots. That kind of sustained late-race strength, on a course famous for breaking runners on Heartbreak Hill, is what separated her from the field.

Erica Rubenstein of Maryland told the opposite story. She was the fastest woman in the F65-69 group through the early miles, sitting 1,562nd among women at the first checkpoint — well ahead of where Backstrom was tracking. But the back half of Boston took its toll. Rubenstein faded progressively from 20K onward, ultimately finishing 2nd in 3:28:04. The gap to Backstrom was 1:51, a margin that grew as the miles mounted.

Leslie Cohen (3rd, 3:33:59, 8:10/mi) and Gwen Jacobson (4th, 3:34:34, 8:11/mi) waged one of the day's tighter battles in this group. Jacobson had been well back of Cohen through much of the race — she was tracking 3,098th among women at the halfway point while Cohen was at 3,184th — but Jacobson's 2,116th-fastest women's split on the 23M→24M segment reflected a genuine late charge. In the end, 35 seconds was the margin, with Cohen holding on for third. Lucie Rochon of Quebec rounded out the top five in 3:38:04, followed by Myriam Avzaradel in 6th at 3:40:04.