For the first time ever, two of America's most prestigious marathons were held on back-to-back days, and the results for Team USATF athletes were stellar. Sunday's Chicago Marathon saw 2016 Olympic bronze medalist Galen Rupp contend for the title for much of the race before finishing second in 2:06:35, the sixth-fastest legal-course time ever by an American man. Rupp went through the half marathon mark in 62:40 in seventh place and then steadily moved up over the next 10K. Third at 35km, Rupp went past Kenya's Eric Kiptanui over the next 5km and finished well to clinch the runner-up spot in his third run at Chicago. Emma Bates set a lifetime best of 2:24:20 to lead a 2-3-4 finish by U.S. women, moving up from sixth at the halfway point. Her time moved her to No. 9 on the all-time U.S. performer list. Sara Hall ended up third in 2:27:19, with Keira D'Amato just behind her in 2:28:22. Delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic from its usual April date, the Boston Marathon on Monday featured a brave front-running effort by C.J. Albertson in the men's race. Albertson, holder of the indoor marathon world best, sped to the front early in the race and had a 2 minute and 13 second margin over fellow U.S. runner Colin Bennie and a group of eight other men at the half marathon mark. By 30km, the pack had started to catch up with him and he dropped out of the top 10 by 35km, but he managed to work his way back up and finished as the second American in 10th at 2:11:44 behind Bennie, who clocked 2:11:26 for seventh. Nell Rojas led the women's race through 10K in 35:00 and was fourth at the halfway point in 1:14:12. She finished sixth in a lifetime best of 2:27:12, 2 minutes and 11 seconds off the family Boston PR of 2:25:01 set in 1979 by her dad, Ric Rojas. In her quest to run all six Abbott Marathon Majors in 42 days, Shalane Flanagan placed 33rd at Chicago in 2:46:39 on Sunday and then went 2:40:34 at Boston, also good for 33rd. The 40-year-old Flanagan started her skein of 26.2-milers with a 2:38:32 at Berlin on Sept. 26 and followed up with a 2:35:04 at London on Oct. 3 before this weekend's double. She will run a virtual version of Tokyo next weekend in Oregon and finish off with a Nov. 7 trek through the boroughs of New York City. Jenny Hitchings, 58, bettered her marathon personal best by more than 30 seconds to win her age group in 2:45:32, lopping more than five minutes off the previous 55-59 age group course best by Joan Benoit Samuelson.