The 1970 Boston Marathon took place on Monday, April 20, 1970. It was the 74th time the Boston Marathon was organized, and featured 1,174 official entrants.[1] This was the first edition of the race to have a qualifying standard, as the entry form stipulated "A runner must submit the certification...that he has trained sufficiently to finish the course in less than four hours."[2]
The race was won by Ron Hill of England in 2:10:30.[3] Women were not officially allowed to enter until 1972, but their first-place results from 1966 through 1971 were later ratified by the Boston Athletic Association. Hill shattered the course record, set by Yoshiaki Unetani the prior year, by more than three minutes.[4] Eamon O'Reilly of the United States finished second, just 42 seconds behind, in 2:11:12, the second-fastest time ever recorded for the event.[4] Hill and O'Reilly were the first two runners in the event's history to break 2 hours 12 minutes. Hill became the first runner in Boston Marathon history to average below five minutes per mile (4:58.6/per mile). His course record was broken five years later by Bill Rodgers who ran 2:09:55 in the 1975 edition.
Results
Men
| Position | Athlete | Nationality | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ron Hill |  England |
2:10:30 |
| 2 | Eamon O'Reilly |  United States |
2:11:12 |
| 3 | Patrick McMahon |  Ireland |
2:14:53 |
| 4 | Pentti Rummakko |  Finland |
2:14:59 |
| 5 | Kalle Hakkarainen | Finland |
2:19:42 |
| 6 | Ken Moore | United States |
2:19:47 |
| 7 | Robert Moore |  Canada |
2:20:07 |
| 8 | Andy Boychuk | Canada |
2:21:06 |
| 9 | Bill Clark | United States |
2:22:17 |
| 10 | Wayne Yetman | Canada |
2:22:32 |
Source:[5]
Other notable participants included: Amby Burfoot (16th), José García (20th), John J. Kelley (63rd), John A. Kelley (163rd)[5]
Women
| Position | Athlete | Nationality | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sara Mae Berman | United States |
3:05:07 |
| 2 | Nina Kuscsik | United States |
3:12:16 |
| 3 | Sandra Zerrangi | United States |
3:30:00 |
| 4 | Diane Fournier | United States |
3:32:00 |
| 5 | Kathrine Switzer | United States |
3:34:00 |
Source:[5]
References
- ^ "(untitled)". Holyoke Transcript-Telegram. Holyoke, Massachusetts. AP. April 18, 1970. p. 12. Retrieved April 17, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "History of the Boston Marathon". BAA.org. Boston Athletic Association. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
- ^ "A Goodbye from Cool Running!". 12 January 2021. Archived from the original on 25 June 2016. Retrieved 16 August 2012.
- ^ a b Craig, Jack (April 20, 1970). "Hill Wins B.A.A. Marathon". The Boston Globe. p. 1. Retrieved April 17, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c "1970 results". bostonlog.com. Archived from the original on March 3, 2021. Retrieved September 21, 2022 – via Wayback Machine.