Boston 2012 Runner Stats: Average Finish Time, Runners, Finishers, DNS, DNF, Deferred to 2013
- Average Finish Time: 4:18:27 (vs 3:51+ 12 Year Average; for more see Avg Finish Times by Age)
- Finishers: 21,554 (95.9% of starters); 8,966 Women, 12,588 Men
- Entrants: 26,656 runners entered to run the 2012 Boston Marathon
- Qualified Runners: 20,081 -- see Qualifying for Boston for details
- Non-Qualified Runners: 6,575 runners received entry via charity or other entities
- Did Not Start -- No-Shows: An estimated 3,803 entrants did not pick up their bib numbers
- Did Not Start -- Weather Deferral Group: Runners World reports 427 eligible for deferral to 2013
- Runners: An estimated 22,480 started the race in Hopkinton
- Did Not Finish: 926, 4.1%
- Finishers: 21,554 95.9% of starters
- Athlete Tracking: Race Splits and Finish Times for Individual Runners
- For more, see our historical Entrants, DNS and DNF rates, Finishers
Results Analysis
How challenging was the 2012 Boston Marathon? The heat crushed expectations and finish times, making 2012 the toughest Boston since 2004. Make that tougher -- the average time in 2012 was 5 minutes slower than in 2004:
- Average Finish Time: 4:18:27
- 2012 vs 2010: 28 minutes slower, or 10%, slower compared to 2010's 3:50 (we felt 2011's results were too wind-aided)
- 2012 vs 2004: 5 minutes, or 2%, slower: 4:18 vs 4:13
How well did you do vs your division, other runners your age, vs 2004 and 2010? The answers are below.
Boston Marathon 2012 Race Summary:
- Elite Men: Wesley Korir comes from behind and takes the win 2:12:41
- Elite Women: Sharon Cherop wins in 2:31:50, 2 seconds ahead of Jemima Sumgong
- Men's Wheelchair: Joshua Cassidy wins new course record 1:18:25 by 2 seconds
- Women's Wheelchair: Shirley Reilly wins 1:37:36 unofficial, photo finish
- Conditions: a reported 80+ degrees in Newton, 'relentless sun' no wind
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| Boston Marathon 2009 Race Start by Raymond Britt |
Shortly after the race, we'll be developing a summary of race results, such as those from 2011 below; we'll be posting the 2012 version as soon as data comes available.
Boston Marathon 2011 Results Analysis
In the record-setting 2011 Boston Marathon, 23,879 finished the legendary 26.2 mile course in an average time of 3:54:31.
See our complete analysis of average finish time by gender and age.
How many Boston finishers run qualifying times on the course itself? Here's the analysis of 2010 race results:
More than 9,400 runners (41% of total) in the 2010 Boston Marathon ran times that will qualify them for the 2011 race. Leading the way, nearly half the F40-44 age group ran qualifying times. Impressive numbers, to be sure. Certainly higher than any other large US race.
However, consider the fact that 100% of runners (except 2000+ running for charity) ran a qualifying time to get into the race. One might reasonably expect a much higher number of re-qualifying times. That less than half were able to run as fast as their original qualifying time speaks to the difficulty of the Boston course. We know from experience: Boston is tough. To learn more.
