Johnny A. "The Elder" Kelley reaches out to congratulate Cosmas Ndeti after his third consecutive marathon win in 1995. (Globe Staff Photo / Tom Herde)

In 1957, on a remeasured course, John J. Kelley would become the first American to win the Boston Marathon since the legendary John A. "The Elder" Kelley's victory in 1945. John J. Kelley's time of 2 hours, 20 minutes and 5 seconds established a record on the new Marathon course.

John J. Kelley finished as runnerup in Boston five times, and might have won in 1961 were it not for a stray dog that charged onto the course in Newton Lower Falls and sent him to the pavement. He ran on two US Olympic teams and won eight consecutive Yonkers Marathons. Fueled by his strong dedication to the sport Johnny Kelley stands as an icon of one of the oldest and perhaps most prestigious marathons in the world.

Current records

Men's Open: Robert Cheruiyot (Kenya) 2:07:14, 2006
Women's Open: Margaret Okayo (Kenya) 2:20:43, 2002
Men's Masters (ages 40-49): John Campbell (New Zealand) 2:11:04, 1990
Women's Masters (ages 40-49): Firaya Sultanova (Russia) 2:27:58, 2002
Men's Veterans (ages 50-59): Ryszard Marczak (Poland) 2:27:17, 1996
Women's Veterans (ages 50-59): Anne Roden (Great Britain) 2:54:21, 2000
Men's Seniors (ages 60+): Clive Davies (Oregon) 2:43:20, 1981
Women's Seniors (ages 60+): Barbara Miller (Calif.) 3:11:57, 2000
Men's Wheelchair: Ernst Van Dyk (South Africa) 1:18:27, 2004
Women's Wheelchair: Jean Driscoll (United States) 1:34:22, 1994