kThe professional men's race was close from start to finish, with Morgan Beadlescomb ultimately winning in 13:35.
SATURDAY SPOTLIGHT
T wo course records, a battle of two world medalists and a phenomenal finish that saw the top 11 men finish within five seconds of each other highlighted the 2023 BAA 5K presented by Point32Health on Saturday, April 15.
The international field of professional athletes in the 13th annual 5K kicked off a morning that featured nearly 9,000 participants in the 3.1-mile race, followed by the B.A.A. Invitational Mile, three laps around Boston’s Back Bay that finished at the Boston Marathon finish line.
In the 5K, then-five-time Boston Marathon winner Marcel Hug (9:52) of Switzerland and American Susannah Scaroni (11:10), the reigning Paralympic gold medalist at 5000 meters, both set new course records with their wins in the wheelchair division in a tune-up for Monday’s Marathon (which both would ultimately win as well).
Hug and Scaroni were soon followed across the finish line in the men’s open division by Morgan Beadlescomb, a 24-year-old running his first 5K as a professional after an All-American career at Michigan State. As a pack that included more than a dozen contenders turned the final corner, about 200 meters from the finish, Beadlescomb made his move, taking the victory in 13:35 – just one second ahead of his