Both John Korir and Sharon Lokedi began their 26.2-mile Boston Marathon within minutes of each other, chasing history and a massive payday. Lokedi had set the course record while winning in 2025, while Korir also won that year but couldn’t get past Geoffrey Mutai’s mark. This time, both reigning champions were not just running to defend their titles.

And for a prize pot, it seems like there’s a twist in how much they take back home. Korir smashed the course record with a stunning 2:01:52, obliterating Geoffrey Mutai’s 2011 mark of 2:03:02. In the women’s race, Kenya’s Sharon Lokedi defended her Boston title, clocking 2:18:51 for her second straight win on the world’s most iconic course.

However, while the two may have defended their titles in the highest-paying marathon in North America, neither Korir nor Lokedi will take home the entire sum. Because, unfortunately, Massachusetts’ tax laws will prevent that. That is because they’ve raced across all six Abbott World Marathon Majors, which include three races in the US.

All three will be subject to heavy tax laws, but the Boston Marathon is one of the largest paying marathons in the world. This year, that is especially the case with $1.2 million up for grabs. It also makes the Boston Marathon the race with the largest prize pot among the Abbott World Marathon Majors.

Out of that, the winners of the open division (men and women) earned an incredible $150,000. But according to a study by the Mass Opportunity Alliance (MOA), the tax cut is significant. The study reveals that while Korir and Lokedi technically earned $150,000, they’ll only take home around $101,000.

That’s because the prize money is subject to tax. After all, ‘Massachusetts treats prize money as income earned’. Not to mention, even if the winners don’t live in the district, they’ll still get hit by a nearly 32% decrease in value.

However, they’ll still take home a large chunk of change, although John Korir will be hit harder than Sharon Lokedi. That’s because his time of 2:01:52 absolutely shattered Mutai’s 2011 time of 2:03:02, aka the course record. Thus, Korir will receive a $50,000 bonus, bringing his total prize money to $200,000.

Sharon Lokedi defends her Boston Marathon title! Lokedi takes the win in 2:18:51. It’s the second-fastest winning time in history It’s Lokedi’s third World Marathon Major title (Boston 2025, NYC 2022)#BostonMarathon coverage presented by @saucony — FloTrack (@FloTrack) April 20, 2026 According to the MOA study’s calculations, the 29-year-old will walk away with approximately $136,000.

And the two winners aren’t the only ones affected by Massachusetts’ tax laws; anyone who earns prize money will be subject to them. Thus, based on the figures released, it applies to everyone who finishes between 1st and 10th in the open, 1st and 10th in the Wheelchair Division (T53/54/34), and so on. Yet while their purses will be hit hard by taxes, right now, Sharon Lokedi and John Korir’s focus will probably be on enjoying their wins.

Sharon Lokedi and John Korir reflect on winning the 2026 Boston Marathon The two ran their hearts out, although things looked dicey for Lokedi for a while. The Kenyan started well, hovering around 14th place in the 18-woman lead pack before eventually taking the lead. That turned things from an 18-woman race into a 3-woman race between Lokedi, Loice Chemnung, and Irene Cheptai.

However, Cheptai couldn’t keep pace as the other two pulled away. And then, Lokedi made her move, steadily increasing her pace post the 37K mark. By the final few miles, it meant she had a 40-second lead over Chemnung and followed Hellen Obiri’s footsteps to win two consecutive marathons.

But while Sharon Lokedi may not have broken her own course record, the crowd definitely inspired her. “There was a little girl somewhere in the crowd who said, ‘You got this, ladies!’ and it was so cute. That is what I needed,” Lokedi told ESPN as per Yahoo Sport.

“It gave me so much to look forward to and to run as fast as I could to get here.” The same, however, didn’t quite apply to Korir. The 29-year-old took it easy and ran at his own pace like he did last year. He was, however, 12 seconds behind Milkese Mengesha at the 25km mark, but eventually, Korir made his move.

That only happened as the pack headed into Heartbreak Hill, and Korir soon opened a 40-second lead. He kept that going, and by the 35K mark, he had clocked in 1:41:48 as the lead with Benson Kipruto in second, with 1:42:14. Kipruto would eventually fade, finishing third behind Alphonce Felix Simbu (2:02:47) while Korir went on to shatter the course record.

His time of 2:01:52 was nearly two minutes better than Geoffrey Mutai’s but behind Kelvin Kiptum’s world record marathon time. “I enjoyed it more than last year,” Korir said, as per NBC Sports. While taxes reduce their final take-home prize, Sharon Lokedi and John Korir finish yet another successful race, happy with the experience. The post Boston Marathon: John Korir & Sha