British Marathon Icon Completes Six Star Medal Challenge with Boston Finish
Over the course of her glittering career, Paula Radcliffe has broken records, stood on podiums around the world, and inspired generations of runners. But on a crisp Monday morning in Massachusetts, the legendary Brit added a different kind of achievement to her resume—one built not on podium places, but on persistence, passion, and a love for the sport that has never faded.
By crossing the finish line at the 2025 Boston Marathon, Radcliffe earned her Abbott Six Star Medal, becoming one of a select group of runners who have completed all six of the world’s most iconic marathons: Tokyo, Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago, and New York City.
At 51 years old, and ten years into retirement, she’s once again set an example—not with a record time, but with a performance rooted in determination and grace.
A Time to Remember
Radcliffe clocked a time of 2 hours, 53 minutes, and 44 seconds, finishing an impressive 117th out of 12,447 women. It wasn’t about winning. It wasn’t even about competing. It was about completing a journey that started decades ago.
Her return to marathon running began in earnest earlier this year, when she lined up at the Tokyo Marathon—her first full 26.2-mile race in ten years. And now, with Boston under her belt, the loop has closed.
It’s almost poetic that Boston would be the race to cap it all. After all, it’s a city that holds a special place in Radcliffe’s heart. Back in 1992, a young Paula stood on the podium after winning gold in the junior race at the World Cross Country Championships, a moment that marked her arrival on the international stage.
Now, 33 years later, she returns not as a rising star, but as a legend completing a pilgrimage.
The Six Star Medal: A Symbol of Endurance
The Abbott Six Star Medal is one of the most coveted achievements in distance running—not because of any prize money or media spotlight, but because of what it represents: global commitment, long-term dedication, and the ability to endure through both physical challenge and logistical complexity.
To earn it, a runner must finish marathons in six major cities, each with its own unique personality and punishing terrain. Tokyo brings efficiency and precision, London delivers crowd-fuelled emotion, Berlin offers speed, Chicago radiates energy, New York demands grit, and Boston… well, Boston is Boston. It’s the oldest, it’s the hardest to qualify for, and it has the infamous Heartbreak Hill.
Radcliffe has now conquered them all. And in doing so, she reminds us that there are many different ways to win in running.
A Legacy That Goes Far Beyond the Clock
It’s easy to forget just how dominant Radcliffe once was. Her 2:15:25 world record, set in London in 2003, stood unchallenged for 16 years. For more than a decade, it was the standard against which all women’s marathoning was measured. It took the power and precision of Kenya’s Brigid Kosgei to finally bring it down in 2019.
Radcliffe’s trophy cabinet includes three London Marathon victories, three in New York, and one in Chicago. She never managed to win Boston during her prime years, but her relationship with the race has always been sentimental.
She retired officially in 2015, citing injury and wear from a lifetime of elite training. But clearly, her passion for running never waned. Her recent efforts show a different kind of bravery—one that doesn’t rely on stopwatch perfection, but on love for the long run.
Elite Races Take the Spotlight
While Radcliffe was capturing hearts with her symbolic finish, the elite field was setting records of their own.
Kenya’s Sharon Lokedi stormed to victory in the women’s race with a course-record time of 2:17:22, slashing more than two-and-a-half minutes off the previous mark of 2:19:59 set in 2014. Lokedi, already one of the brightest stars in distance running, looked composed and ruthless throughout the final stages of the race.
On the men’s side, it was John Korir, another Kenyan standout, who crossed the line first in 2:04:45, staking his claim in an increasingly competitive marathon landscape dominated by East African excellence.
More Than a Medal
For most runners, the Boston Marathon is a bucket-list goal. For some, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime shot. For Paula Radcliffe, it was both the end of a chapter and the continuation of a lifelong story with running.
The Six Star Medal may be a piece of hardware, but in her case, it’s also a symbol of something deeper: longevity, adaptability, and a refusal to be defined by age or the passing of records.
Radcliffe’s journey—from junior champion in 1992, to world record holder in the early 2000s, to Six Star finisher in 2025—is a testament to what’s possible when you love what you do, and you do it for the right reasons.
As crowds lined Boylston Street to cheer home the final finishers of this year’s race, there was something quietly fitting about Radcliffe being among them—not as a star taking the spotlight, but as a runner among runners. And maybe that’s the point.
Because once you’ve run long enough, far enough, and deep enough into the soul of the sport, you realize the real medal was never made of metal to begin with.
