BOSTON — Sara Hall enters the 2026 Boston Half Marathon, a World Athletics Label road race, as the fastest American woman on the professional start list, leading a U.S. contingent that includes Emily Durgin, Megan Sailor and three athletes making their half-marathon debuts.

Hall’s personal best of 1:07:15 seconds was set in Houston in 2022, placing her fourth among all women entered for the Nov. 8 race. Durgin enters with a time of 1:07:54, also recorded in Houston in 2022, and the pair will be hoping to improve those performances when they come against a very strong field.

In fact, the Americans will face two-time defending champion Fentaye Belayneh of Ethiopia, who returns seeking the first women’s three-peat in race history. The Boston Half starts and finishes in Franklin Park.

Hall and Durgin set the American benchmark

Hall holds a 39-second advantage over Durgin on personal bests. Both are among the seven women on the current entry list who have broken 1:10 for the half marathon. Hall’s best is also 25 seconds faster than the Boston women’s course record of 1:07:40, established by Brillian Kipkoech in 2019. Durgin’s best is 14 seconds outside that mark.

Sailor, meanwhile, brings a personal best of 1:09:39 achieved in Boston in 2025. Her performance makes her the third-fastest American entered by listed half-marathon best. Kassie Parker follows Sailor among the American entrants with a 1:10:17 best from Duluth this year. Madey Dickson also recorded her listed best in Duluth in 2026, running 1:11:35.

Erin McDonald enters at 1:13:37, set at Bayshore this year, while Annabel Stafford has a 1:14:18 best from Boston in 2025. Alyssa Salese, Amalia Dorion and Megan Connolly complete the American entrants with established half-marathon marks.

Three additional Americans are listed for debuts at the distance. Sydney Vaught brings a 32:16 road 10K performance, Ruby Krasnow has run 33:45.66 for 10,000 meters, and Chloe Whiting has a 34:58 track mark. Those shorter-distance results are entry credentials, not half-marathon times.

Americans compete for overall prize money

The open-division purse pays $15,000 to the winner, $7,000 to the runner-up and $5,000 for third, with awards continuing through 10th place. A $10,000 course-record bonus is available. Those awards apply to overall open-division results rather than a separate American-only competition. Prize money is based on gun time, and athletes must begin in the professional start to qualify.

American women entered in the 2026 Boston Half

The B.A.A.’s published women’s open field includes the following 13 American athletes. Established half-marathon performances are listed first, followed by debut entrants.