The Latest: Kenya’s Kirui wins men’s race at Boston Marathon

BOSTON (AP) The Latest on the 121st running of the Boston Marathon (all times local):

12:10 p.m.:

Kenya’s Geoffrey Kirui (JOFF’-ree key-ROO’-ee) has won the Boston Marathon – his first marathon victory ever.

Kirui outran Galen Rupp of the U.S. to take Monday’s 121st running of the race in an unofficial time of 2 hours, 9 minutes, 36 seconds.

He took seventh in last year’s Amsterdam Marathon and third at Rotterdam.

Rupp finished unofficially in 2 hours, 9 minutes, 58 seconds.

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11:55 a.m.:

Edna Kiplagat (KIP’-la-gat) has won her Boston Marathon debut.

The Kenyan policewoman opened up a big lead heading into the Newton hills, and she cruised to victory in an unofficial 2 hours, 21 minutes, 53 seconds in Monday’s 121st running of the race.

It’s the first time Kiplagat, a two-time world champion, has raced Boston.

She’s won in London, New York City and Los Angeles.

Rose Chelimo of Bahrain was second, 59 seconds behind and American Jordan Hasay was third in her marathon debut. Desi Linden, who was second in Boston by 2 seconds in 2011, finished fourth – the first time since 1991 that two U.S. women have finished in the top four.

– Bill Kole in Boston

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11:10 a.m.

The lead women’s pack is starting to drop some big names behind.

Defending champion Atsede Baysa of Ethiopia was out of the top 10 and slowing at the halfway point. 2014 champion Buzunesh Deba was also about 2 minutes behind the leaders.

The top group of seven runners included Americans Jordan Hasay and Desi Linden. Linden is a two-time Olympian and three-time top 10 finisher in Boston.

– Jimmy Golen in Boston.

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11 a.m.

Those times are now official in the wheelchair races.

Manuela Schar of Switzerland finished in 1 hour, 28 minutes, 17 seconds – shattering the world best by more than five minutes. Fellow Swiss Marcel Hug took the men’s race in 1:18:04, also the fastest time ever.

The winners’ times are considered a world best and not a world record. The straight-line Boston course doesn’t qualify for world records because of the possibility of a supportive tailwind like the one on Monday.

– Jimmy Golen in Boston.

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10:50 a.m.

The women have delivered another world best in the Boston Marathon wheelchair races.

Manuela Schar of Switzerland finished in an unofficial 1 hour, 28 minutes, 17 seconds to win the women’s wheelchair race on Monday.

It’s the first time ever that a woman has beaten the 1:30 mark.

Schar earned her first victory in Boston to join countryman Marcel Hug atop the podium and in the record books. The old best for a woman in the wheelchair race was 1:34:06.

The winners’ times are considered a world best and not a world record. The straight-line Boston course doesn’t qualify for world records because of the possibility of a supportive tailwind like the one on Monday.

– Jimmy Golen in Boston.

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10:45 a.m.

Marcel Hug (HOOG) has won the wheelchair race at the Boston Marathon in a world’s best time.

Hug outpushed 10-time winner Ernst Van Dyk of South Africa down Boylston Street to finish in an unofficial time of 1 hour, 18 minutes, 4 seconds. That’s a course record and the fastest time ever for a wheelchair marathon.

The straight-line Boston course doesn’t qualify for a world record, because of the possibility of a supportive tailwind like the one on Monday.

It was the third straight Boston win for the 32-year-old from Switzerland.

The old world’s best was 1:18:25.

– Jimmy Golen in Boston.

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10:30 a.m.

Leading the pack of the men’s race at the Boston Marathon in Framingham, about six miles in, is Emmanuel Mutai, who is going for a unique feat.

If he finishes, the 32-year-old Kenyan will be the first professional to complete all six major marathons plus the world championships and the Olympics.

Mutai finished second in London and New York in 2010 and won London the next year. He also won Amsterdam in 2007 and has a total of seven major second-place finishes.

– Jimmy Golen in Boston.

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10:15 a.m.

Plans are in the works for memorials to mark the sites where two bombs exploded during the 2013 Boston Marathon.

City officials and the families of five people who died in the bombing or its aftermath say there’s also a plan to build a separate, larger memorial to victims, survivors and responders.

Pablo Eduardo is a Massachusetts resident and internationally known sculptor. He’ll create the memorial markers on Boylston Street where bombs killed three spectators and wounded more than 260 others.

Eduardo said Monday his goal is to “embody the spirit of those we lost and the spirit of the city they loved.”

– Bob Salsberg in Boston.

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10 a.m.

The 121st Boston Marathon is on its way from Hopkinton to Boston.

The bulk of the 30,000-runner field left at 10 a.m. for the 26.2-mile trek to Copley Square. Along the way, they were expected to be slowed by temperatures rising into the 70s.

The women left at 9:32 a.m., and American Desi Linden was an early leader as the lead pack passed through Ashland and into Framingham. Defending champion Atsede Baysa was also in the pack.

– Jimmy Golen in Boston.

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9:45 a.m.

Runners in the Boston Marathon had high temperatures to deal with.

But they also got a strong tailwind that could help, too.

Temperatures hit 70 degrees under mostly sunny skies when the elite women left the start in Hopkinton. It was 69 and warming at the halfway point in Wellesley and expected to be up to 72 degrees by the time the runners reached the finish in Boston’s Back Bay.

A tailwind of 13 mph gave the runners a push at the start on Monday. Gusts were expected of up to 30 mph.

A strong tailwind and cooler temperatures in 2011 helped Geoffrey Mutai finish in 2 hours, 3 minutes, 2 seconds. That was the fastest marathon in history at the time, though not a world record because the Boston course does not qualify for world records.

The world record is 2:02:57, set by Kenyan runner Dennis Kimetto in Berlin in 2014.

– Jimmy Golen in Boston.

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9:35 a.m.

The elite women are on their way in the 121st running of the Boston Marathon.

The field started at 9:32 a.m. They’ll be followed at 10 a.m. by the elite men.

Atsede Baysa of Ethiopia is back to defend her women’s title. She’s joined in the field by countrywoman Buzunesh Deba, the 2014 champion.

The top U.S. woman is Desi Linden, a two-time Olympian who’s placed in the top 10 in Boston three times.

– Bill Kole in Boston.

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9:20 a.m.

The 121st running of the Boston Marathon is getting underway in waves for the 30,000 athletes.

Mobility impaired athletes – the blind and those with prostheses or other challenges – started at 8:50 a.m. Monday.

They were followed by the men’s push rim wheelchair athletes at 9:17 a.m., and the women two minutes later.

The elite women start at 9:32 a.m., and the elite men and the rest of wave one get underway at 10 a.m.

There are three more waves that set up a staggered start: wave two at 10:25 a.m., wave three at 10:50 a.m. and wave four at 11:15 a.m.

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8:50 a.m.

The 121st running of the Boston Marathon is officially underway with the mobility impaired athletes.

Runners who are blind, wear prostheses or have other challenges set off from Hopkinton, Massachusetts, on Monday morning.

The rest of the field will follow in waves.

Monday’s race is getting started in temperatures of 66 degrees Fahrenheit (19 degrees Celsius.) That’s ideal for spectators but a bit warm for many runners.

The leading men will include Galen Rupp, the bronze medalist in the Rio Olympics, running Boston for the first time, and 2014 champion Meb Keflezighi (kuh-FLEHZ-key.)

The top U.S. woman is Desi Linden, a two-time Olympian who’s placed in the top 10 in Boston three times.

Security has been extra tight since 2013, when bombs killed three spectators and wounded more than 260 others.