Now 29 and a three-time major champion, Kenya’s John Korir will attempt to defend his Boston Marathon title next Monday in the 130th running of the great race.

I have known of John Korir since his older brother Wesley first came on the scene winning the Los Angeles Marathon in 2009. The University of Louisville grad spoke then about having a much younger brother — by 14 years — with an abundance of talent, but who needed to focus on school before exploring his running.

Wesley went on to win another LA title in 2010 before returning to Chicago, where he famously debuted in 2008 by running the fourth fastest time of the day from the people’s corral after failing to secure a spot among the elites. Proving his mettle, he ran 2:06:15 to place second in Chicago 2011, before winning Boston in the ultra-hot year of 2012. He subsequently made an even grander name for himself by winning a seat in the Kenyan parliament as an independent candidate from the Cherangany district while training to defend his Boston title. He managed fifth in Boston 2013 in 2:12:30, then ninth in New York that fall.

John Korir began his marathon career in Ottawa in 2018, before coming to Los Angeles in 2019. In both races he took the lead at 20 miles and opened a sizable gap on the field. But on both occasions, he faded late, and we wondered if that was evidence of a tactical flaw.

What we learned from Coach Ron Mann — who was Wesley’s coach at the University of Louisville — was that John was short on base mileage, not racing savvy. At 65–70 miles per week, his body couldn’t cash the checks his mind wrote. Coach Mann said it was just a matter of adding strength, and his racing instincts would pay off.

That analysis instantly reminded me of how young Meb Keflezighi began his marathon career in New York City in 2002. He, too, arrived with an instinct to compete but not enough training to support it fully. Subsequently, both men corrected their training until they brought it into harmony with their competitive nature.

Meb famously won the silver medal at the Athens Olympic Marathon in 2004, then added New York City in 2009 and Boston in 2014. This year, Meb will once again be manning the broadcast booth for ESPN2 as John Korir defends his title.

I spoke with Coach Mann yesterday from his home in Louisville and he gave me the rundown on John’s preparation.

“His preparation is very similar to 2025 Boston. I went to Kenya during the second week of March to be with him. He’s very comfortable and in very good shape. He’s really looking forward to the race this year. He knows there’s good competition. He knows he has the second fastest time in the field. He knows the players, and he knows what to expect. It’s a matter of being comfortable, and he is.”

The top man in Boston timewise is Benson Kipruto, the 2021 Boston champion, who has a PB of 2:02:16. He’s the first man to win all three US majors: Boston, Chicago, and New York City.

After winning Chicago in 2024 in his personal best of 2:02:44, John Korir stumbled in the Midwest major last October. After taking the lead, he eventually dropped out after getting caught.

“He had to get the monkey off his back after Chicago,” said Coach Mann. “And he did in Valencia.”

On December 7, 2025, Korir ran a 20-second personal best in Valencia, Spain, 2:02:24, the fourth fastest time of the year.

“His support system is better than ever now,” says his coach. “He finally finished his home in Cherangany. It wasn’t finished before Boston in 2025. So, he has a home in the hills, and another one in Eldoret for doing flat, fast work. Wesley also built a track at the Transcend Talent Academy in Cherangany only 3,000 meters from John’s house. He has good places to train for hills, tempo runs, and track sessions, and now there’s plenty of paved roads around his home so he can get used to racing on pavement as well.”

I asked Coach Mann what happened in Chicago last October, an unusual bump in what had otherwise been a smooth ride to the top echelon of the sport.

“He thought he had the competition dropped and when they came back on him, he got a stomach cramp. What was it? Food? Was it hydration? Who knows? He came to my house in Louisville afterwards, and I said, ‘You have a number of options. Do you want to run some half marathons? Or do you want to just prepare for Boston?’ He said, ‘Let’s do Valencia.’

“He only did 20 miles in Chicago, so we backed down, recovered, and then prepared for Valencia. And that paid off as he ran a new personal best.

“Now his volume, and the times he’s running his tempos—all systems are go. He’s ready. It’s supposed to be a cold day in Boston, but he doesn’t mind that. John has become a good racer. His volume is a little higher than the last cycle. He’s thrown in a couple of 150-mile weeks, and the tempos have been really good. The things that are in his control have gone as well as can be hoped. Now it’s just the given day.”

It’s almost scary when things go that well in preparation. But what are you supposed to do — mess up your training so it’s not perfect?

John Korir has had 14 marathon starts. He’s won five times, including three majors. He joined his brother Wesley as a two-time Los Angeles and Boston champion, becoming the first brother act to accomplish either one of those goals.

He’ll have stiff competition next Monday from past champions and strong contenders in Boston. But he won handily last year in 2:04:45, taking the lead up Heartbreak Hill, ripping the field to shreds with a 4:39 21st mile leading to a 14:19 5K split between 35 and 40K before backing off a bit in the final few kilometers.

That’s the moment in Boston John remembers: the Newton Hills alive with the roar of the crowd funneling down like a zephyr through a canyon. For fourteen glorious minutes during his breakaway, he wasn’t racing the others so much as situating his name in the legend of Boston. Each stride a clean, skimming note struck against the pavement until the hill finally gave way and the road tipped toward Cleveland Circle and finally Boylston Street itself.

One doesn’t get the idea he’ll be able to back off this year. But somebody’s going to have to contend with this man, fully educated now with a PhD in marathoning. Should be fun.

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