Winners instantly earn a place in the history of the Boston Marathon, but they have a lot of work to do before they can collect their prize money and relax.
The men's race has Kenyans Edwin Kurgat and David Bett and US's Reid Buchanan while the women are lead by Mexico's Laura Galvan and US's Allie Ostrander.
In an excerpt from her upcoming memoir, Choosing to Run, Desiree Linden shares the story of the painful year that led up to the biggest win of her life.