Bethesda’s Ben Beach completed the Boston Marathon for the 52nd time on Monday, extending his record-setting finishing streak.
The 69-year-old completed the race in just over six hours on a muggy day marred by rainy conditions.
Now beginning on Main Street in Hopkinton and concluding near the John Hancock Tower in Boston, Beach has traversed the 26.2-mile course every year since 1968.
Beach said he was fighting a cold that arrived on Friday, sapping his strength. He began cramping up at around the 12-mile mark and was forced to walk a portion of the course. Beach’s net time of 6 hours, 5 minutes and 35 seconds was nearly 17 minutes behind his 2018 mark.
“This was my worst marathon, so I’m disappointed,” Beach said in an email. “But I’m grateful to have completed the course.”
While Beach failed to eclipse the six-hour cutoff time the Boston Athletic Association requires for official race results, the streak is measured by finishing no more than six hours after the last runner crosses the starting line, Beach said. With runners lined up behind him taking around a half-hour to start, the streak survived.
An association spokesperson confirmed that by recording a finishing time, Beach’s streak extends another year.
Beach competed in the 65-69 age group against 553 male entrants, 468 of whom finished the race, according to the association’s results. The 80-and-over age group had 16 participants, 12 of whom finished the race. Beach was among 402 Marylanders in the marathon.
The association reported 30,234 runners entered the race, which has been held in some form since 1897.
Beach has seen several milestones across his half-century running the race, including the first women to officially run the Boston Marathon in 1972, the introduction of a wheelchair division in 1975, the institution of prize money in 1986 and the addition of the two-wave start and microchip timing in 2006.
Competing as a septuagenarian for the first time, Beach said he plans to be back on the course next year.
“I intend to be back in Hopkinton next April and to make up for this lackluster performance,” Beach said.
Charlie Wright can be reached at charlie.wright@moco360.media
