1970 Boston Marathon
| 1970 Boston Marathon | |
|---|---|
| Venue | Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Date | April 20, 1970 |
| Competitors | 1,011 |
| Champions | |
| Men | Ron Hill (2:10:30) |
| Women | Sara Mae Berman (3:05:07) |
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] with 1,011 runners starting the event.[2] The weather was described as "a steady downpour."[2]
The race was won by Ron Hill of England in 2:10:30.[3] 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 in 2:11:12, a new American record.[5] Hill and O'Reilly were the first two runners in the event's history to break 2 hours 12 minutes. Hill's pace, 4:58.6 per mile, made him the first runner in Boston Marathon history to average below five minutes per mile. His course record stood until the 1975 edition, when it was broken by Bill Rodgers.
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."[6]
A disabled veteran in a wheelchair, Eugene Roberts, began before the official noon start of the race and went on to complete the course in approximately seven hours.[7][8] Roberts is not recognized as a race champion.[a]
Results
[edit]
Men
[edit]| 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 |  United Kingdom[b] | 2:20:07 |
| 8 | Andy Boychuk |  Canada | 2:21:06 |
| 9 | William Clark | United States | 2:22:17 |
| 10 | Wayne Yetman | Canada | 2:22:32 |
Source:[11]
Other notable participants included: Amby Burfoot (16th), José García (20th), John J. Kelley (63rd), and John A. Kelley (163rd).[11]
Women
[edit]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.[12] Sara Mae Berman, originally from The Bronx in New York City, finished first among women runners, credited with a time of 3:05:07.[9] Berman is also recognized as the 1969 and 1971 women's champion.[9]
| 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:[11]
Notes
[edit]- ↑ The first recognized wheelchair champion is Bob Hall of the 1975 Boston Marathon.[9]
- ↑ Boston Athletic Association records list Moore as being a Canadian resident; contemporary news reports noted that he was originally from England.[10]
References
[edit]- ↑ "(untitled)". Holyoke Transcript-Telegram. Holyoke, Massachusetts. AP. April 18, 1970. p. 12. Retrieved April 17, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
- 1 2 "31-Year-Old Englishman Breaks Boston Marathon Record in Rain". News Register. Fremont, California. UPI. April 21, 1970. p. 14. Retrieved April 27, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
- ↑ "A Goodbye from Cool Running!". 12 January 2021. Archived from the original on 25 June 2016. Retrieved 16 August 2012.
- ↑ Craig, Jack (April 20, 1970). "Hill Wins B.A.A. Marathon". The Boston Globe. p. 1. Retrieved April 17, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Athletics Podium". Athletics Podium. Retrieved 2025-04-24.
- ↑ "History of the Boston Marathon". BAA.org. Boston Athletic Association. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
- ↑ Concannon, Joe (April 21, 1970). "Legless Viet veteran wheels race distance". The Boston Globe. p. 28. Retrieved April 13, 2026 – via newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Bob Hall, the father of wheelchair racing and a two-time winner of the Boston Marathon, dead at 74". The Boston Globe. April 12, 2026. Retrieved April 13, 2026.
In 1970, Vietnam War veteran Eugene Roberts, who had lost both of his legs in the war, needed more than six hours to finish.
- 1 2 3 "Champions Of The Boston Marathon". baa.org. Boston Athletic Association. Retrieved April 27, 2025.
- ↑ Nason, Jerry (April 22, 1969). "Unetani Turns Back Only Challenge by Mexican Pair". p. 37. Retrieved April 27, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
- 1 2 3 "1970 results". bostonlog.com. Archived from the original on March 3, 2021. Retrieved September 21, 2022 – via Wayback Machine.
- ↑ "Worth the wait". The Boston Globe. April 13, 1996. p. 77. Retrieved April 27, 2025 – via newspapers.com.