Runners 'pumped' as Boston Marathon returns to April

Story by Reuters

Updated 1502 GMT (2302 HKT) April 16, 2022

Runners make their way to the finish line down Boylston Street during the 125th Boston Marathon on October 11, 2021.

(Reuters)The Boston Marathon returns to its traditional April date for the first time in three years on Monday with the fastest field in the race's history, boasting a star-studded slate of previous champions and Olympic medalists.

Kenya's Peres Jepchirchir leads the women's field hot off her Tokyo Olympic gold medal and New York City Marathon victory last year, while local hero Molly Seidel is looking to build off her bronze medal at that Olympics and triumph in her first Boston Marathon.In the men's division, Kenya's Benson Kipruto is looking to repeat just six months after he won at last year's delayed race, but will face tough competition from last year's New York winner, compatriot Albert Korir, and 2021 London winner Sisay Lemma of Ethiopia.«It's exciting. It's always cool to feel like you're coming to your hometown race. I'm really pumped to actually go at it on this course rather than just training on it,» Seidel, an American and a former Boston resident, told Reuters on Friday.Seidel stunned the marathon world by surging to Olympic bronze last August in just her third marathon, and followed that up in November with a fourth-place New York finish — but success hasn't changed her approach.Read MoreBenson Kipruto of Kenya reacts after winning the 125th Boston Marathon on October 11, 2021. «I think it's given me a little bit more confidence to know that I do belong here, I do belong up in that front pack. But honestly I approach races exactly the same,» she said.«I'm going to race just as hard-headedly as I always do. Even if other people