Two months after winning her second Boston Marathon, Sharon Lokedi is heading back to the same city for a much shorter race. The Boston Athletic Association announced on Monday that the Kenyan star will line up at the 2026 B.A.A. 10K on Sunday, June 21, looking to defend the title she won last year in 31:39.
It’s her first race since her April win on Patriots’ Day, where she ran 2:18:51. That was the second-fastest winning time in the history of the Boston Marathon. The only faster one belongs to her, too — the 2:17:22 course record she set in 2025.
“Boston holds a special place in my heart, and I look forward to running through the city once again in June at the B.A.A. 10K,” Lokedi said in a statement. “From the 10K to the Boston Marathon, the community comes alive every race day. I’m ready to give my best to defend my title.”
The 6.2-mile course starts on Charles Street at 8:00 a.m. and finishes next to Boston Common. Runners cross the Longfellow and Mass. Ave. bridges, follow the Charles River through Cambridge, and pass over the Boston Marathon finish line on Boylston Street before turning home. About 10,000 people are expected to run it.
“This year’s B.A.A. 10K will kick off the summer racing season, and brings together more than 90 of the most accomplished athletes in the sport,” said Mary Kate Shea, the B.A.A.’s chief operating officer. “Top athletes across the Open, Wheelchair, and Para Athletics Divisions from 21 countries will lead the way for a field of 10,000 participants on race day.”
Who’s coming for Lokedi
The women’s field is deep. Gladys Kwamboka, also of Kenya, owns the fastest 10K personal best of anyone entered — 30:24, set in Castellón last year. She’s the reigning African champion at 10,000 meters on the track. British Olympian Jessica Warner-Judd is in the mix as well, with a 30:41 PR.
Then there’s Stacy Ndiwa, runner-up here back in 2023, and Viola Cheptoo, who finished second at the Boston 5K in 2019. Both are Kenyan.
On the American side, the name to watch is Rachel Smith. She was runner-up at the Boston 5K in April and competed for Team USA at the 2021 Olympics. Beating Lokedi at her best is a tall order, but Smith has been racing well.
The men’s race
The men’s field pulls from 13 countries and includes a handful of athletes with serious marathon credentials.
Ethiopia’s Dawit Seare comes in with the fastest 10K on paper, 27:21 from Valencia last year. He won the Boston 5K in 2025. Kenya’s Alexander Mutiso brings a different kind of résumé: he won the 2024 London Marathon and finished second in New York City last fall. Patrick Kiprop, another Kenyan, just won the BolderBoulder 10K on Memorial Day weekend after finishing fifth at the Boston 5K in April.
Alex Masai knows this course well. He finished ninth at the Boston Marathon in April in 2:05:32 and has cracked the top ten at the B.A.A. 10K three times.
A few first-timers are worth keeping an eye on. South African Olympian Adriaan Wildschutt is making his B.A.A. 10K debut after a strong winter. He won the NYC Half in 59:30 and finished 13th at the World Cross Country Championships. Ethiopia’s Hagos Gebrhiwet, an Olympic bronze medalist on the track, has won the B.A.A. 5K twice. Canada’s Andrew Alexander arrives off a win at the Canadian 10K championships on May 23.
The American contingent is led by Hillary Bor. The two-time Olympian made his name on the steeplechase but has been steadily moving to the roads — he was second at the U.S. Half Marathon championships earlier this year. Ryan Ford (2:05:46 marathon PR) and Andrew Colley, the reigning USA 25K champion, round out the top U.S. entrants.
There’s also a hometown story. The trio of Murphy Smith (2:08:58), Robert Miranda (2:09:40), and Barry Keane (2:13:01) won the Boston Marathon team title in April running for the B.A.A. All three are coached by two-time Olympian Mark Carroll. They’ll be on home roads.
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