November 8 Update: Current professional field lists for the 2024 Boston Half can be found here. Of note, Daisy Jepkemei (KAZ) has been added to the field while Susannah Scaroni (USA), Sarah Chelangat (UGA), Bosena Mulatie (ETH), and Bravin Kiptoo (KEN) and have withdrawn.
BOSTON – The Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) has announced the professional field for the upcoming 2024 Boston Half presented by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Jimmy Fund. Returning to Boston are 2024 Paralympic medalists Susannah Scaroni and Daniel Romanchuk, U.S. Olympian Leonard Korir, reigning Boston 10K winner Melknat Wudu, and a collection of the world’s fastest athletes across open, wheelchair, and Para Athletics divisions. The Boston Half will be run on Sunday, November 10, starting and finishing within Franklin Park.
“Nearly 9,000 athletes will take part in this year’s Boston Half, and at the front of the field will be fan favorites striving for event records and personal bests,” said Jack Fleming, President and CEO of the B.A.A. “We’re eager to welcome competitors from more than 40 countries to the roads of Boston, ranging from the world’s best to those looking to complete their first half marathon.”
Scaroni, the 2023 Boston Marathon women’s wheelchair winner, and Romanchuk, Boston Marathon champion in 2019 and 2021 will compete fresh off of racing at the Paralympic Games. In Paris, Scaroni earned three medals (one silver, two bronze) while Romanchuk took home a gold and bronze. Romanchuk will battle defending wheelchair champion Hermin Garic for top men’s honors.
Four months after winning the Boston 10K, Ethiopia’s Wudu returns to the Bay State to make her half marathon debut. Wudu ran 31:15 to win June’s 10K, and is a two-time World Junior Championships silver medalist on the track. She’ll be challenged by fellow Ethiopians Mestawat Fikir and Bosena Mulatie, second and third at last month’s Berlin Marathon.
Additional international stardom comes in the form of Uganda’s Sarah Chelangat, Ethiopians Fentaye Belayneh and Mebrat Gidey, and Britain’s Calli Hauger-Thackery. Chelangat placed 12th at the 2024 Olympic 10,000m, while Belayneh was runner-up at the Boston Half in 2023 and Gidey placed 10th at the 2024 World Cross Country Championships. Hauger-Thackery set a lifetime best 2:21:24 at the Berlin Marathon this year, finishing seventh. B.A.A. High Performance Team member Megan Hasz will be making her half marathon debut, leading the American charge.
Four men boast half marathon personal bests under one hour, including Bernard Ngeno (Kenya, 59:07), Isaac Kipkemboi (Kenya, 59:17), Leonard Korir (USA, 59:52), and Bravin Kiptoo (Kenya, 59:37). Ngeno has won eight international half marathons, while Korir has represented Team USA at two Olympic Games –including a 63rd place finish at the Paris Olympic Marathon.
Olympians Ben Flanagan (Canada) and Yemane Haileselassie (Eritrea) are familiar with the roads of Massachusetts. Flanagan is a three-time Falmouth Road Race winner and finished second at the 2023 Boston 5K; Haileselassie was 3rd at last year’s Boston Half.
Additional Americans in the professional field include Sam Chelanga, 3rd at the 2012 Boston Half and seventh a year ago, Daniel Mesfun, 15th at the U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon, and Boston-based B.A.A. High Performance Team members Josh Kalapos and Barry Keane. Also from the B.A.A. Racing Team are Erik Linden, Tim McGowan, and Thomas Toth.
In the Para Athletics Division, a quartet of Boston Marathon champions will compete in Marko Cheseto Lemtukei (T61-T64 lower-limb impairment), Atsbha Gebremeskel (T45-T47 upper-limb impairment), Kelly Bruno (T61-T64 lower-limb impairment), and Christina Burbach (T36 coordination impairment). Joining them is world record holder Brian Reynolds (T61-T64 lower-limb impairment), a Massachusetts native.
A complete field list can be found below, with professional athlete bios available here.
The Boston Half course runs along the picturesque Emerald Necklace Park System, past landmarks such as the Arnold Arboretum, Jamaica Pond, and Franklin Park Zoo, before finishing on Pierpont Road in Franklin Park. The Boston Half is a family-friendly event for athletes and spectators of all ages. Free youth events will be offered on race morning within Franklin Park, including races and medals for all.
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Jimmy Fund has partnered with the B.A.A. Half Marathon since 2003 as the race’s presenting sponsor and exclusive charity team. Through this relationship, Dana-Farber runners have collectively raised more than $10 million to support groundbreaking cancer research, and enabled Dana-Farber scientists and clinicians to positively impact the lives of cancer patients around the world. In advance of the 2024 event, more than 600 Team Dana-Farber athletes have raised funds.
PROFESSIONAL OPEN WOMEN’S FIELD
|
NAME |
COUNTRY |
PERSONAL BEST |
|
Mestawut Fikir |
Ethiopia |
1:06:44 (Larne, 2023) |
|
Veronica Loleo |
Kenya |
1:07:08 (Copenhagen, 2024) |
|
Vivian Melly |
Kenya |
1:07:35 (Paris, 2023) |
|
Calli Hauger-Thackary |
Great Britain |
1:08:20 (Houston, 2024) |
|
Senayet Getachew |
Ethiopia |
1:08:37 (Porto, 2022) |
|
Mercy Chelangat |
Kenya |
1:08:58 (Houston, 2024) |
|
Fentaye Belayneh |
Ethiopia |
1:09:49 (New Delhi, 2022) |
|
Diana Bogantes |
Costa Rica |
1:13:08 (Las Vegas, 2023) |
|
Stephanie Rouse |
USA |
1:15:33 (Hartford, 2023) |
|
Katie McMenamin |
USA |
1:18:03 (Philadelphia, 2021) |
|
Mebrat Gidey |
Ethiopia |
Debut |
|
Melknat Wudu |
Ethiopia |
Debut |
|
Daisy Jepkemei |
Kazakhstan |
Debut |
|
Megan Hasz |
USA |
Debut |
|
Mica Rivera Wood |
Peru |
Debut |
|
Lauren Ryan |
Australia |
Debut |
|
Annabel Stafford |
USA |
N/A |
|
Kelsey Swenson |
USA |
Debut |
|
Courtney Hawkins |
USA |
N/A |
PROFESSIONAL OPEN MEN’S FIELD
|
NAME |
COUNTRY |
PERSONAL BEST |
|
Benard Ngeno |
Kenya |
59:07 (Valencia, 2019) |
|
Isaac Kipkemboi |
Kenya |
59:17 (Rome, 2023) |
|
Leonard Korir |
USA |
59:52 (New Delhi, 2017) |
|
Sam Chelanga |
USA |
1:00:37 (Houston, 2018) |
|
Juan Luis Barrios |
Mexico |
1:00:46 (Marugame, 2015) |
|
Ben Flanagan |
Canada |
1:01:00 (Valencia, 2022) |
|
Johannes Motschmann |
Germany |
1:01:33 (Hamburg, 2024) |
|
Yemane Haileselassie |
Eritrea |
1:01:34 (Houston, 2024) |
|
Fearghal Curtin |
Ireland |
1:01:45 (Houston, 2024) |
|
Daniel Mesfun |
USA |
1:02:13 (Grand Rapids, 2024) |
|
Thomas Fafard |
Canada |
1:02:19 (Houston, 2024) |
|
Segundo Jami |
Ecuador |
1:02:28 (Buenos Aires, 2022) |
|
Ryan Johnson |
USA |
1:02:31 (Houston, 2024) |
|
Haimro Alame |
Israel |
1:02:38 (Tiberias, 2022) |
|
Afewerki Zeru |
USA |
1:02:40 (Duluth, 2023) |
|
Max Turek |
Canada |
1:02:49 (Toronto, 2023) |
|
James Quattlebaum |
USA |
1:03:28 (Indianapolis, 2019) |
|
Tim McGowan |
USA |
1:03:54 (Philadelphia, 2023) |
|
Ryan Cutter |
USA |
1:03:54 (Philadelphia, 2022) |
|
Erik Linden |
USA |
1:04:09 (Houston, 2024) |
|
Barry Keane |
Ireland |
1:04:11 (Philadelphia, 2024) |
|
Joseph Minor |
USA |
1:04:15 (Duluth, 2024) |
|
Thomas Toth |
Canada |
1:04:28 (Houston, 2016) |
|
Robert Miranda |
USA |
1:05:12 (San Jose, 2023) |
|
Michael Durkin |
USA |
1:07:00 (New Bedford, 2024) |
|
Spencer Friske |
USA |
1:08:09 (Boston, 2023) |
|
Tanner Chada |
USA |
Debut |
|
Zablon Chumba |
Kenya |
Debut |
|
Isaac Harding |
USA |
Debut |
|
Andrew Kaye |
USA |
Debut |
|
Kieran Lumb |
Canada |
Debut |
|
Nickolas Scudder |
USA |
Debut |
WHEELCHAIR & PARA ATHLETICS DIVISION FIELD
|
MEN |
|
|
|
NAME |
COUNTRY |
CLASSIFICATION |
|
Daniel Romanchuk |
USA |
T53/T54 Wheelchair Division |
|
Jacob Allen |
USA |
T53/T54 Wheelchair Division |
|
Hermin Garic |
USA |
T53/T54 Wheelchair Division |
|
Aidan Gravelle |
USA |
T53/T54 Wheelchair Division |
|
Jeyna Senbeta |
USA |
T53/T54 Wheelchair Division |
|
Dustin Stallberg |
USA |
T53/T54 Wheelchair Division |
|
Wyatt Willand |
USA |
T53/T54 Wheelchair Division |
|
|
|
|
|
Marko Cheseto Lemtukei |
USA |
T61/T64 Lower-Limb Impairment |
|
Brian Reynolds |
USA |
T61/T64 Lower-Limb Impairment |
|
|
|
|
|
Atsbha Gebremeskel |
ETH |
T45-T47 Upper-Limb Impairment |
|
|
|
|
|
WOMEN |
|
|
|
NAME |
COUNTRY |
CLASSIFICATION |
|
Susannah Scaroni |
USA |
T53/T54 Wheelchair Division |
|
Hannah Babalola |
USA |
T53/T54 Wheelchair Division |
|
Yen Hoang |
USA |
T53/T54 Wheelchair Division |
|
Chelsea Stein |
USA |
T53/T54 Wheelchair Division |
|
Michelle Wheeler |
USA |
T53/T54 Wheelchair Division |
|
|
|
|
|
Kelly Bruno |
USA |
T61/T64 Lower-Limb Impairment |
|
|
|
|
|
Christina Burbach |
USA |
T36 Coordination Impairment |
ABOUT THE BOSTON ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION (B.A.A.)
Established in 1887, the Boston Athletic Association is a non-profit organization with a mission of promoting a healthy lifestyle through sports, especially running. The B.A.A. manages the Boston Marathon, and supports comprehensive charity, youth, and year-round programming. The 129th Boston Marathon presented by Bank of America is scheduled to take place on Monday, April 21, 2025. The Boston Marathon is part of the Abbott World Marathon Majors, along with international marathons in Tokyo, London, Berlin, Chicago, and New York City. For more information on the B.A.A., please visit www.baa.org.