M18-39: Sisay Lemma Wires the Field in 2:06:17

• Lemma leads wire-to-wire, holding the men's top spot at every checkpoint en route to a 2:06:17 finish at 4:49/mi — 41 seconds clear of runner-up Mohamed Esa (2:06:58).
• Evans Chebet finishes 3rd at 2:07:22, returning to the podium at a race he won in both 2022 and 2023 — the defending two-time champion now a step behind two new faces at the front.
• John Korir (4th, 2:07:40) and Albert Korir (5th, 2:07:47) separated by just 7 seconds, with four men finishing within 90 seconds of the winner in a deep M18-39 field of 4,849.
• Mohamed Esa's late charge was the race's most dramatic move — sitting as low as 6th at the 10K mark, he worked his way up to claim 2nd with the fastest split of anyone on the 20M-to-21M stretch.

From the gun to Copley Square, Sisay Lemma ran a race of calm authority. He sat at the front of the men's field from the first checkpoint and never relinquished it, clicking off miles at 4:49/mi average — a pace that proved untouchable over the 26.2-mile point-to-point course from Hopkinton. That kind of front-running control on a course featuring the Newton Hills and Heartbreak Hill is no small feat, and Lemma's 41-second winning margin over Esa tells the story plainly.

Behind him, the real drama was a game of musical chairs. Evans Chebet — the man who owned this race in 2022 and 2023 — ran a measured early effort, climbing from 5th at 5K to 2nd by the 20K mark before ultimately settling into 3rd at 2:07:22. John Korir tracked him closely, moving from 6th at the start to 3rd by 20K, before finishing 4th at 2:07:40. Albert Korir, meanwhile, was a picture of steady progression, advancing from 7th to 5th by the finish in 2:07:47.

Mohamed Esa's path to the silver medal was the most circuitous of all. He drifted back to 6th at 10K before beginning a relentless climb through the field, posting the fastest split of anyone on the final mile stretch from 20M to 21M and ultimately crossing in 2:06:58. Further back, CJ Albertson (7th, 2:09:53), Yuma Morii (8th, 2:09:59), and Cybrian Kotut (9th, 2:10:29) rounded out a top ten separated by under five minutes across 4,849 finishers.