Running in Boston

Careful at Heartbreak Hill – that’s what you’re likely to be told if you ask an experienced international marathoner, especially an American. That’s what happened to me when I told Donald Bloome, the former US ambassador to Pakistan, that I was going to run the Boston Marathon in 2023 under a diverse charity collaboration with the South Asian Circle of Hopkinton and the Pakistani-American community of Massachusetts.

Is it really about Heartbreak Hill? Well, it is to a great extent, because it can break many runners.

When you finish the marathon, you don’t see a big banner of triumph felicitating you. But when you finish your gruesome ascent of Heartbreak Hill, you see a large banner saying, “Congratulations on Summiting Heartbreak Hill” It’s the last of the four Newton Hills between the 32–34-kilometre mark of the Boston course. Luckily, it did not break my heart.

Since 1970 for men and 1972 for women, Boston has been the only qualifying marathon in the world. Qualifiers who were six minutes and 51 seconds (6:51) or faster than the qualifying time for their age group and gender have been accepted into the 129th Boston Marathon, which will be held tomorrow (April 21).

A total of 24,069 qualified applicants have been accepted. It is considered a great honour in athletics to qualify for Boston. A few thousand spots are kept for several charity fundraising programmes.

Where do Pakistanis stand in this tough marathon, in which the course record for men – 2:03:02 by Geoffrey Mutai of Kenya – has not been broken since 2011, and for women – 2:19:59 by Buzunesh Deba of Ethiopia – since 2014?

Until a few years ago, Pakistanis were nowhere in the Boston Marathon. But now, Pakistani runners are making their mark in this prestigious event, with growing numbers each year.

Overseas Pakistanis took the lead, as it’s a domestic race for them. This year, the number is the biggest so far: 18 Pakistanis are participating, including 14 time-qualifiers, and 11 of them were accepted into the 129th Boston Marathon under the tough cut-off time.

The Pakistani lineup this year includes some fresh talent. Amin Mukaty, the youngest Pakistani to qualify, did so with his Berlin Marathon (2023) time of 2:46:43. He also ran Chicago in October 2024 in 2:44.

Abdul Rehman from Karachi also qualified with his Berlin time of 2:50:10. There are four women runners, including Sara Lodhi and Hira Diwan. Currently, there are eight Pakistani Six Star Finishers in the Abbott Hall of Fame, and 10 Five Star Finishers waiting to run their final sixth World Major. Adnan Gandhi, who ran his first World Major in Chicago (2000) with a time of 3:21:13, qualified for the Boston Marathon with his personal best in Tokyo: 3:13:42.

Danish Elahi from Karachi, who was the fastest among the Pakistani runners’ group at the New York Marathon 2024, is set to run the Boston Marathon in shalwar kameez for a Guinness World Record attempt, alongside Faisal Shafi, who is already a Six Star Finisher (2024) and qualified for this year’s Boston on his Berlin (2023) time of 2:58:09.

US-based Pakistani nephrologist Dr Salman Khan, who is running Boston for the fifth time, is among the two Six Star Finishers in this lineup. Hamid Butt is also now set to get his second Six Star medal in London next week. Aisha Qamar, a US-based runner of Pakistani origin, also received her Six Star medal in Tokyo (2023) with a timUe of 3:03:37. Prem Kumar, a Quetta-born Pakistani-US runner, received his Six Star medal in the London Marathon 2023.

Sadiq Shah, an Indus Valley School graduate, was the fastest Pakistani runner in the London Marathon (2023), and has been on a streak of sub-3-hour World Marathon Majors. He qualified for Boston a second time with his Berlin Marathon time of 2:52:16. He ran his first Boston last year in 2:57:05.

Nizar Nayani, 42, a Pakistani-US runner based in Texas, led the Pakistani groups in Chicago (2023) and in Tokyo (2024), where he finished in 2:54. Ayaz Abdullah from Karachi, a long jump athlete in his school days, qualified for Boston in his first World Marathon Major in Berlin (2023).

Salman Ilyas, a Pakistani-US mechanical engineer, qualified for Boston with a time of 2:57. Aamar Butt, 59, a UET Taxila graduate based in New Jersey, is running Boston for the fourth time. Jamal Khan, a Pakistani-US banker in New Jersey, originally from Islamabad, finished his fifth World Marathon Major in Tokyo last month, and is now going for his sixth star in Boston.

Ravia Bokhari is running with her sister Yusra Bokhari, who is going to get her Six Star medal. Qamar Zia, committed to a transformative weight loss journey through marathons, is aiming for three marathons in 2025, starting with the Boston Marathon.

In 1989, the Boston Marathon Charity Program was introduced, and more than 5,000 runners enter the Boston Marathon through this.

In 2023, the South Asian Circle of Hopkinton, based in the city where the marathon starts, became the most diverse non-profit body to get entry into the Boston Marathon. Jang Group, Geo TV, and the Pakistani community in Massachusetts played a major role in that, especially former advisor to the US president Shahid Ahmed Khan.

The global marathon season starts with the Tokyo Marathon in March. For Pakistanis, it started with the Karachi Marathon in January this year, which was broadcast live on Geo Super for the second year in a row.

The Karachi Marathon, being the first and only internationally certified marathon, provided a platform for Pakistani runners in their home country to run a qualifying time for global races.

The London Marathon 2025, scheduled for April 27, is expected to become the world’s largest marathon by the number of participants. More than 30 Pakistanis are participating in the London Marathon 2025.

The growing representation of Pakistanis at international events can have a long-lasting impact on the positive image of Pakistan and help create new opportunities for Pakistani athletes by building trust in the country’s raw, untapped athletic talent.

If given proper training and the opportunity to run a world marathon major, our athletes can bring Pakistan closer to entry in the Olympic marathon one day through the universality place or a wild card.