Top Canadians at the 2023 Boston Marathon

It was wet and drizzly on the course at Monday’s 127th running of the Boston Marathon, and the day brought a few surprises: world record holder Eliud Kipchoge did not perform as well as expected, finishing sixth in 2:09:23 as the defending champion, Evans Chebet of Kenya, took the win in 2:05:54. Hellen Obiri, also of Kenya, won the women’s race in only her second marathon (though this was not entirely unexpected, considering she is a multiple gold medallist in various disciplines in the track and cross country).

Despite there being few Canadians in the elite field this year, Canadians put up some impressive times in challenging conditions; the fastest Canadian man was Calum (Cal) Neff, a former Canadian 50K record holder and multiple marathon stroller world record holder. Neff finished as 40th male (45th in the M18-39 age group) in 2:22:11. Jackson Bocksnick of B.C. was second fastest, in 2:23:16; Steven Lawrence was third, in 2:28:40 (winning the M45-49 age group), and Dennis Mbelenzi was fourth in 2:28:58, 11th in the M40-44 category. 

Liza Howard was the fastest Canadian elite female, finishing in 2:40:14 for 37th among women 18-39; Carmen Hussar was next, 41st female in 2:45:01 (and winning W45-49), and Julie Lajeunesse was 42nd female in 2:45:41 and fifth in W40-44. Melissa Paauwe did not race in the elite division, but clocked a speedy 2:42:53, for the second-fastest chip time among Canadian women.

Top Canadian age-groupers

For the remaining Canadians, we’ve listed those who finished in the top 20 in their age category.

Men 40-44

(11. Dennis Mbelenzi 2:28:58)
13. David Savard-Gagnon 2:29:25

Women 40-44

4. Lynda Gingras 2:45:22
(5. Julie Lajeunesse 2:45:41)

Men 45-49

1. Steven Lawrence 2:28:40
2. Blaine Penny 2:30:37
3. Craig McMillan 2:31:15
9. Jeremy Deere 2:37:19
12. François Landry 2:38:13

Women 45-49

(1. Carmen Hussar 2:45:01)
3. Ana Fray 2:50:32
12. Melissa Raven 3:01:59
20. Angela Switt 3:06:15

Men 50-54

14. Kyle Aitken 2:43:15
20. Patrick Nadeau 2:47:13

Women 50-54

2. Agniezska Rogut 3:07:08

Men 55-59

14. Lawrence Warriner 2:55:03
17. Troy Cox 2:55:41
18. Jan Adegeest 2:55:43

Women 55-59

10. Liz Maguire 3:18:16

Men 60-64

5. Paul Huyer 2:56:24
9. Greg Shende 2:58:55
12. Walter Downey 3:00:27
13. Wayne Shuttleworth 3:01:09
14. Robert Campbell 3:01:22

Women 60-64

4. Linda Eng 3:21:09
15. Diane Doyon 3:31:35

Men 65-69

2. Bruce Grant 3:06:39
4. Derek Brenchley 3:08:01
14. Andrew Kilback 3:16:45

Women 65-69

1. Lucie Rochon 3:25:58
14. Odette Gélinas 3:48:10
20. Rose Van Aspert 3:56:34

Men 70-74

1. Sandy Rutledge 3:22:22

Women 70-74

3. F. Deborah Macdonald-McGee 4:05:35
4. Barbara Freedman 4:06:50

Women 80+

1. Helen Sabourin 5:04:06

For complete results, click here.