Franz Nietlispach
Home: Rheinfelden, Switzerland
Age: 43
Personal best: 1:21:36 (Boston, 1999)

Nietlispach has won the last four wheelchair division championships, and five overall. He is tied with Jim Knaub for the most number of wheelchair titles. At the 1998 and 1999 races, Nietlispach battled against the clock, chasing a new world record rather than a competitor on the field. He was 29 seconds shy in 1998 and a mere 13 seconds off the pace in 1999. Strong headwinds at last year's race erased the probability of a record-breaking performance. This is his 11th Boston.