BOSTON, Mass. – Zach Stinson made the Boston Marathon look easy.
The 36 year old from Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, dominated from start to finish Monday to win the handcycle division in the 130th edition of the race. He covered the 26.2-mile course in 1 hour, 4 minutes and 5 seconds, finishing more than nine minutes ahead of second place in the 28-rider field to win his fourth Boston title.
“I was pretty fortunate today,” said Stinson, who also won titles in 2021, 2023 and 2024. “It worked out like it was supposed to. The execution was pretty solid.”
Stinson, a double amputee, lost his legs after stepping on an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan while serving with the Marines in 2010. He began competing in marathons in 2012, and Monday was his eighth appearance at Boston. He lowered his personal-best time on the course by 42 seconds, and he did it without much drama.
“Fortunately for me, it’s probably my least exciting Boston win,” he said. “In the past when I’ve won, I’ve had major mechanical issues and had to fight back. That’s definitely a lot more of an exciting story. But this year, I got into the front and just stuck to my plan the entire way through, and no one challenged. It was just me vs. me.”
His wife, Tesa, also recorded her first Boston finish. Participating as a charity runner for Achilles International, she covered the course in 5:04:51.
The couple had a memorable experience Sunday, the day before the race, when they simultaneously threw out ceremonial first pitches before the Tigers–Red Sox game at Fenway Park.
“They asked me to throw out the first pitch, and I thought it would be neat to do it with Tesa,” Stinson said. “I kind of just threw it out there, and the Red Sox were all for it.
“That was super neat. I’ve never done anything like that. And to be able to share it with my wife was a very cool experience. And it’s Fenway. I’m not super big into baseball, but I know the history of it, so it was pretty incredible.”
Another Chambersburg family had a strong Boston Marathon showing.
Laurie Dymond, 60, recorded her 18th Boston finish, placing ninth out of 782 runners in the women’s 60-64 division in 3:21:24. Her 23-year-old daughter, Isabella, ran the race for the first time, finishing in 4:17:46.
The top local runner was Kyle Phillips, 32, of Waynesboro, who clocked a 2:35:40 to place 687th overall out of 29,020 finishers.
Other local finishers included Todd Henry, 62, of Chambersburg, in 3:39:56, and Heather Luciani, 40, of Hagerstown, in 3:54:06.
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