Boston Marathon M45-49: Bradbury Runs Away with It

• Samuel Bradbury won the M45-49 group in 2:19:07 (5:18/mi), finishing more than 6 minutes ahead of runner-up Patrick Blair — a dominant margin in a field of 2,413.
• Blair's late charge was the race's sharpest subplot: he posted the 98th-fastest split in the men's field on the 35K-to-mile-23 segment, climbing from 151st to 140th among men in the final stretch.
• Places 9 and 10 — Jorge Larry (2:33:27) and Mark Kearney (2:33:29) — were separated by just two seconds across 26.2 miles.
• The top-20 cutoff came at 2:38:40, with 2,393 more finishers behind them across the M45-49 field.

On a cool, breezy Boston morning — 51°F and a 10 mph wind that kept the overcast skies honest — Samuel Bradbury turned in one of the sharpest performances in the M45-49 group. His 2:19:07 at 5:18 per mile wasn't just a win; it was a statement. He held a consistent position among the men's field throughout, tracking between 63rd and 68th among men from the opening splits before settling at 64th by the finish. That kind of steadiness over 26.2 miles is what separates a win from a runaway.

Patrick Blair made the most of the back half. Starting conservatively — 204th among men at the first checkpoint — he worked his way methodically forward, and his 35K-to-mile-23 segment was one of the sharpest in the men's field at that stage. He crossed in 2:25:35, 28 seconds ahead of John Kinsella (2:25:57), who had actually been the faster starter but faded slightly through the middle miles, slipping from 121st to 155th among men by the finish. Carlos Tiago ran the most consistent second half of the podium chasers, gaining steadily from 221st to 167th among men and closing in 2:26:31.

The battle for 9th and 10th was the race's tightest finish: Jorge Larry and Mark Kearney covered the same 26.2 miles and arrived two seconds apart — Larry in 2:33:27, Kearney in 2:33:29. Just behind them, Wayne Blas, Marcos Itano, and Jay Hudson all clocked between 2:33:38 and 2:33:58, making spots 11 through 13 a genuine cluster. In a group of 2,413 finishers, the spread from 9th to 13th was just 31 seconds.