The 123rd Boston Marathon took place Monday, April 15.
Worknesh Degefa of Ethiopia dominated the women's race from the start. She ran the last 20 miles of the 26.2 mile course alone before crossing the finish line in a winning time of 2:23:31. The men's race came down to the last few yards: Lawrence Cherono of Kenya just barely won, inching past Lelisa Desisa of Ethiopia to break the tape with a time of 2:07:57.
Besides the pride that comes with winning the oldest annual marathon in the world, and one of the most prestigious, Degefa and Cherono both earned $150,000 in prize money.
A total of $868,000 will go to the top finishers in the open, masters (age 40 and over) and wheelchair divisions.
In the open division, which Degefa and Cherono won, the top 15 men and women walk away with prize money. Here's exactly how much they earn:
First place: $150,000
Second place: $75,000
Third place: $40,000
Fourth place: $25,000
Fifth place: $15,000
Sixth place: $12,000
Seventh place: $9,000
Eighth place: $7,400
Ninth place: $5,700
10th place: $4,200
11th place: $2,600
12th place: $2,100
13th place: $1,800
14th place: $1,700
15th place: $1,500
In the wheelchair division, the top 10 finishers take home prize money. First place gets $25,000, while second and third place get $15,000 and $7,500. For the masters division, the top five finishers collect paychecks, with the top male and female each earning $10,000.
In 2018, American Desiree Linden became the first American woman to win the Boston Marathon in 33 years. The title also came with a $150,000 check. She used part of that to splurge on a nice pair of non-running shoes, which she says is her one vice.
"I have champagne taste when it comes to shoes," Linden, who placed fifth in this year's race, tells CNBC Make It. "I did buy a pair of nice Gucci shoes — and a few others, but we'll just leave it at that."
"I could've done a lot worse," she adds. "I didn't buy a car or anything."
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