Desisa had previously won the 2013 edition of the race . However , his win that day was overshadowed by the Boston Marathon bombing hours later . In the 2015 post race festivities , Boston Athletic Association spokesman Jack Fleming paid homage to Desisa 's 2013 win saying " Lelisa did not get to have the kind of victory celebration that a champion of the Boston Marathon should have . Lelisa , we want you to get your due today . " Desisa 's win by 31 seconds was the largest margin of victory since Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot won by 1:18 in the 2008 Boston Marathon . It also made him the first non-Kenyan to win the race twice since England 's Geoff Smith won back-to-back races in 1984 and 1985 . The win came with a $ 150,000 prize , a golden olive wreath , and a winner 's medal . " This medal , I think , is for me , " he told the crowd . ( In 2013 , he had donated his medal to the city of Boston in memory of the bombing victims . ) In the women 's race , a lead group of nine was thinned to three as Ethiopia 's Bizunesh Deba picked up the pace with a 5:08 24th mile . For a while , Deba and fellow Ethiopian Mare Dibaba worked together to hold back Caroline Rotich of Kenya . However , Deba tightened up entering Boylston Street and fell off the pace . Rotich and Dibaba raced the final quarter mile side by side
Boston Marathon bombing
Boston Marathon bombing
2015 Boston Marathon