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30,000 runners start wet, windy Boston Marathon

BOSTON — About 30,000 runners braved freezing and torrential rain and wind on the race between Hopkinton to Copley Square for the 2018 Boston Marathon.

Yuki Kawauchi from Japan won the men's Boston Marathon with an unofficial time of 2 hours, 15 minutes and 58 seconds.

He's the first Japanese man to win the Boston Marathon since 1987, according to The Associated Press, beating

Geoffrey Kirui, of Kenya, to win his first Abbott World Marathon major title.

Desiree Linden is the first American woman to win the Boston Marathon since 1985, the AP reported.

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Linden is a two-time Olympian and 2011 Boston runner-up. She ran the slowest time for a woman's winner since 1978 with a time of 2 hours, 39 minutes, 54 seconds, the AP reported.

Tatyana McFadden won the women's wheelchair race and her fifth Boston Marathon, while Marcel Hug took home his fourth consecutive Boston Marathon win in the male wheelchair division.

The cold weather was a big problem for some runners at the marathon. The marathon’s medical director told Boston 25 news that hundreds of people suffered from hypothermia and cold-weather related issues.

Weather can be a challenge for runners of the Boston Marathon, according to the AP:

  • Monday had temperatures in the 30s with rain and wind.
  • In 2007, the area had a nor'easter leading up to the race.
  • Five marathons were run in snow; latest in 1967.
  • In 1976 temperatures were so hot that the race was nicknamed "Run for the Hoses." Runner's World reported that temperatures hit mid-90s.
  • In 2012, temperatures hit 89 degrees.
  • In 1905, temperatures topped 100 degrees.
  • In 1939, racers ran in the dark at the start of the marathon thanks to a storm and partial solar eclipse.
  • In 2002, the mist was so thick that helicopters covering the race were grounded.
  • In 2010, flights for runners heading to Boston were grounded because of a volcano in Iceland that was spewing ash into the sky that stopped air traffic in Europe grounded for weeks.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

BROOKLINE, MA - APRIL 16: Yuki Kawauchi approaches the 24 mile marker of the 2018 Boston Marathon on April 16, 2018 in Brookline, Massachusetts. He won the race, his first major marathon win, with an unofficial time of 2:10:46.