Yuki Kawauchi has become the first Japanese man to win the Boston Marathon in more than 30 years, while Desiree Linden broke a similar drought for the United States in the women's race.
"I don't have the right words," Linden said, shivering under blankets shortly after crossing the finish line.
The 34-year-old's time of two hours, 39 minutes and 54 seconds in wet, near-freezing conditions made her the first American woman to win the classic race since 1985.
Linden lost by two seconds in Boston in 2011, when she booked her career fastest marathon in 2:22.38. The two-time Olympian was runner-up in the 2010 Chicago Marathon.
The 122nd Boston Marathon had some 30,000 entrants Monday morning as slushy snow was still melting from grassy areas near the starting line outside Boston.
The temperature was about 3C for the starting gun, warming only slightly by midday under grey skies with intermittent rain.
"For me, these are the best conditions possible," Kawauchi said after mounting a furious late-race rally.
The first Japanese man to win the event since 1987, the 31-year-old finished in 2:15.54, 2:27 ahead of Kenyan Geoffrey Kirui.
Kawauchi made up a 90-second deficit over a stretch of less than 5000 metres late in the race, which was held under some of the coldest conditions ever recorded for the Boston Marathon.
Linden was 4.10 ahead of fellow American and runner-up Sarah Sellers.
Canadian Krista Duchene was 4.26 off the pace in third, the only non-American runner among the top five women.
In the men's race, Shadrack Biwott of the United States was third, 2.37 behind Kawauchi.
