The Boston 10K for Women, Presented by REI, formerly known as the Reebok Boston 10K for Women, Tufts Health Plan 10K for Women and the Bonne Bell Mini Marathon, is a major 10 kilometer (6.2 mi) road running race held annually in Boston on the Saturday of Columbus Day weekend. It is popular as both an elite world-class competition and a women's running event promoting health and fitness. Each year, the race draws thousands of participants and nearly 20,000 spectators.
History For many years, the race has doubled as the USA Women's 10 km Championship (USA Track & Field). It has attracted many of the world's top distance runners, including Olympic gold medalist Joan Benoit Samuelson and Olympian Molly Huddle, who each won four times, and Olympic bronze medalist Lynn Jennings, a six-time winner.
Begun in 1977 as the Bonne Bell Mini Marathon, Tufts Health Plan became title sponsor in 1985 and supported the race for 33 years. In 2018, Reebok took up the sponsorship of the race, and in 2021, REI became the presenting sponsor of the event. For several years it was the largest women-only 10K in the US, most recently in 2013.
In the 2018 race, Emily Sisson's time does not count as a course record as an off-course public safety issue caused the race course to be adjusted after it had begun, and was approximately 300 meters short.
In 2020 the in-person race was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and became a virtual event in which more than 2,000 participants registered and ran around the world.
When the race resumed in 2021, now presented by REI, Weini Kelati set a new course record and American record with a time of 31:18.
Course The race course starts on Beacon Street near the Boston Common, crosses the Charles River via the Massachusetts Avenue Bridge into Cambridge near the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, forms a loop along the river on Memorial Drive, and crosses back over the bridge and into Boston down brownstone-lined Commonwealth Avenue. The finish line on Charles Street returns the runners to the Boston Common for celebration.
Runners The race has become a Boston tradition and there are at least 10 women who have run the race every year since its inception in 1977.
Winners
Year Winner Time202531:05202431:48202332:08202232:14202131:18 2019 31:50 2018 30:39 2017 33:30 2016 31:47 2015 32:16 2014 31:38.9 2013 31:32.9 2012 32:29.8 2011 32:46.4 2010 31:59.9 2009 32:06.6 2008 32:51.2 2007 32:01.0 2006 32:37.5 2005 32:25.2 2004 32:47.4 2003 32:33.3 2002 31:45.4 2001 32:11 2000 32:46 1999 32:49 1998 31:57 1997 32:46 1996 32:47 1995 32:30 1994 31:39 1993 32:02 1992 32:22 1991 32:12 1990 32:39 1989 31:57 1988 31:38 1987 32:22 1986 31:40 1985 31:49 1984 31:51 1983 31:36 1982 31:42 1981 32:04 1980 32:24 1979 32:47 1978 33:15 1977 34:31
References
List of winners
External links Official website