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Taxes, and the 2024 Boston Marathon.
Those are the two most prominent things that happen in mid-April, and both happen to fall on Monday, April 15 this year. While there’s still plenty of time to file your taxes, the hay better already be in the barn for anyone running the marathon.
Here’s a rundown of what you should know about the 128th running of this iconic footrace from Hopkinton, Massachusetts, to Copley Square in downtown Boston.
The 2024 Boston Marathon
The oldest annual marathon in the world, the Boston Marathon, dates back to 1897. It’s always held on the third Monday in April, which has become known as Marathon Monday. But it’s also Patriots’ Day, a Massachusetts state holiday that commemorates some of the early battles of the American Revolutionary War.
The race will include a field of approximately 30,000 runners—about 22,000 of whom qualified by running an approved race under the time qualification marks corresponding to age and gender divisions, and about 8,000 of whom entered through one of the 157 non-profit organizations in the Bank of America Boston Marathon Official Charity Program. Each athlete who participates in the Boston Marathon on behalf of one of the official charities is required to raise a minimum of $5,000 for that organization.
A group of U.S. military soldiers starts things off on race-day at 6 A.M. as they begin marching along the course. Then the men’s wheelchair division takes off from the start in Hopkinton at 9:02 A.M., followed by the women’s wheelchair racers, hand cyclists, and various para athletes. The men’s professional race begins at 9:37 A.M., followed by the women’s professional race at 9:47 A.M. The first of four time-seeded citizen waves begins at 10 A.M., followed by subsequent waves every 25 minutes. A few minutes before the fourth and final wave begins, the Boston Red Sox begin their Patriots’ Day game against the Cleveland Guardians 25 miles to the east at Fenway Park (and just a few blocks from the homestretch to the finish line). The early game start time dates back to the 1960s, when it was aligned with the start of the marathon as a joint celebration of Patriots’ Day.
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A Circus of Pre-Race Events
If you’re in Boston the weekend of the race—either because you’re racing or because you just want to soak in the vibes and events—there is a lot to see and do. For participating runners, that probably means getting to the expo to get your bib, doing a shakeout run on Saturday or Sunday, and laying low until Monday morning. But the days leading up to Marathon Monday have become a spectacle of fun runs, brand activations, swag giveaways, athlete appearances, live podcasts, live music, parties, and more. The best part is that almost all of it is free and open to the public.
Whether you’re running the race or not, there are numerous shakeout runs tied to brand activations scheduled for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. (Last year there were more than a dozen shakeout runs crammed into three days!) This year’s schedule includes a New Balance fun run at 5:30 P.M. Friday night with Believe in the Run that starts and ends at Solas Irish Pub (61 Exeter Street), Saturday morning shakeout runs from Hoka’s FlyLab PopUp shop (344 Newbury Street), custom singlets from the New Balance pop-up store (124 Newbury Street) on Saturday morning, and a Saturday evening shakeout run with Craft (a meet-and-greet with Tommy Rivs) at the Marathon Sports Brand House (344 Newbury Street), as well as Sunday morning shakeout runs from the Puma, ASICS, and Tracksmith pop-up shops on Newbury Street.
The Boston Marathon race expo will once again be at the Hynes Convention Center (900 Boylston Street) and, aside from being the place where runners pick up their race bibs and browse vendor booths, it will also boast numerous speakers and events, including an Indigenous Running Panel, an Ali on the Run Podcast with Emma Bates and Jenny Simpson, a Women in the World of Running panel, a discussion from Dave McGillivray about running the Boston Marathon for 51 straight years, and a chat with American legend Meb Keflezighi about his historic victory in 2014. Expo hours are Friday, April 12 from 11 A.M. to 6 P.M., Saturday, April 13 from 9 A.M. to 6 P.M., and Sunday, April 14 from 9 A.M. to 6 P.M.
The Boston Marathon Fan Fest returns this year, but because Copley Square is under construction it’s been moved to City Hall Plaza in downtown Boston adjacent to historic Faneuil Hall. The Fan Fest is open Friday from 3 P.M. to 8 P.M. and Saturday and Sunday from 9 A.M. to 8 P.M. and will feature a few shakeout runs and yoga sessions for runners, as well as numerous live music performances.
Approximately 10,000 runners will participate in the sold-out Boston 5K at 8 A.M. on Saturday, April 13. Beginning and ending on Charles Street next to the Public Gardens and Boston Common, it’s a fast loop course that passes over the Boston Marathon finish line about a half mile from its own finish line. (Morgan Beadlescomb won the men’s race in 13:25 last year, while Mekides Abede won the women’s race in 15:01.) From 10:30 to 11:30 A.M. Saturday, top scholastic boys and girls from the cities and towns of the Boston Marathon course, as well as a field of professional milers from around the world, will race in the B.A.A. Invitational Mile races on a three-lap course on the streets of Boston. (Hobbs Kessler won the men’s race in 4:07.91 last year, while Krissy Gear won the women’s race in 4:39.98.)
RELATED: Everyone’s Favorite Boston Marathon Dog Memorialized with Statue
The Boston Marathon Course
The Boston Marathon starts in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, and sends runners on a hilly 26.2-mile point-to-point journey to Copley Square in Boston. The course has a net-downhill profile, dropping 459 feet from start to finish. Everyone worries about trudging up Heartbreak Hill at Mile 21, but the most devastating hill on the course might be the 350-foot downhill runners encounter in the first 4 miles that often leads to a faster-than-expected opening 10K. If you go out too fast or haven’t done long downhill tempo runs, your legs will feel as soupy as a bowl of Boston clam chowder even before you reach the infamous Newton hills. The four Newton Hills between Mile 16 and 21 are a challenge, to be sure, especially Heartbreak Hill, which is the tallest and longest hill to climb. But don’t sleep on the steep downhill mile from the top of Heartbreak—it can deaden a runner’s legs and make the final four miles to the finish line absolutely brutal. From there, it leads to the famous final turns—right of Hereford, left on Boylston—and the final, glorious 600 meters to the finish amid droves of cheering fans.
RELATED: A Complete Guide to the Boston Marathon Course
Official Urge Spectators to Stay Off the Marathon Course
Race officials are urging fans to stay off the course after a controversy involving police blocking predominantly Black running groups cheering adjacent to Heartbreak Hill. The B.A.A. has put messaging on social media about the importance of having a clear course on Marathon Monday. The race’s official Spectator Guide reminds fans that they’re banned from entering the course, running alongside athletes, or impeding athletes in any manner. “Planning to attend #Boston128? Keeping the course clear is essential to supporting every athlete in having a great race day experience,” the B.A.A. posted from its Boston Marathon X account. “The BAA Spectator Guide offers info on how to support a great race & help you find the perfect spots to cheer!”
The Professional Fields Are The Strongest Ever
It goes without saying that this year’s Boston Marathon will be as compelling as previous races always seem to be, even without the marquee billing of Eliud Kipchoge this year. Both the women’s and men’s professional fields are stacked with talented international athletes, including past Boston champions, Olympic medalists, and world champions. Fans of American distance running will also rejoice to see many big names who didn’t fare quite as well as they hoped at the U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon on February 3 in Orlando, Florida.
Women’s Pro Field
The women’s race has the strongest field in Boston Marathon history, with 18 runners entered with personal bests of 2:23 or faster. Depending on weather conditions and race-day tactics, the women’s course record of 2:19:59 set by Ethiopia’s Buzunesh Deba in 2014 could certainly be in jeopardy.
Leading the field is defending champion Hellen Obiri of Kenya, who won the race in her second marathon (2:21:38) before going to win the New York City Marathon last fall (2:25:49). She’s still considered to be one of the favorites in the women’s race, but she’s only the 16th fastest in the field. Ethiopia’s Tadu Teshome (2:17:36), who was the runner up at the 2021 Berlin Marathon and placed fifth in the Chicago Marathon last fall, and Hiwot Gebremariam (2:17:59), who was eighth in Boston last year, are the fastest of seven Ethiopian women entered with sub-2:20 personal bests. Kenya’s Judith Korir (2:18:20), the silver medalist at the 2022 world championships, is the third-fastest woman in the field, while her compatriot Edna Kiplagat (2:19:50), a 44-year-old two-time Boston Marathon winner and two-time world champion who lives and trains in Boulder, Colorado, is also in the field after a stellar, third-place finish at the NYC Half Marathon (1:09:46) on March 17.
Emma Bates is considered the top U.S. contender after her personal-best 2:22:10, fifth-place showing last April in Boston. The 32-year-old runner from Boulder, Colorado, skipped the U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon because of a minor injury, but is said to be fit and ready with two weeks to go. Based on personal bests, Sara Hall (2:20:32) is the fastest U.S. runner in the field. She turns 41 on race day, but she’s continued to run exceptionally since her late 30s. She’s doubling back from the U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon just 72 days after her strong fifth-place, 2:26:06 showing in Orlando..
Another 40-year-old legend, Des Linden, the 2018 Boston Marathon champion who has run well in Boston for nearly 15 years, is also doubling back from the Olympic Trials after placing 11th (2:28:04). So is Caroline Rotich, 39, who took sixth at the Trials (2:26:14). Rotich won the 2015 Boston Marathon running for her native country of Kenya, but went through the long process to gain U.S. citizenship and finally received it last October. Meanwhile, American track legend Jenny Simpson, a four-time global medalist in the 1,500 meters (including winning gold at the 2011 world championships) is in the Boston field. She made her marathon debut in the U.S. Olympic Trials, but dropped out near Mile 18. However, she’ll toe the start line with a confidence boost after a strong showing at the the NYC Half Marathon (sixth, 1:12:06).
RELATED: Star-Studded Women’s Field Set to Dazzle at the 2024 Boston Marathon
Men’s Pro Field
Kipchoge, largely considered the GOAT of marathoning, was humbled a bit last year by perhaps not respecting how hilly the course was—that is, if you consider a sixth-place, 2:09:23 to be humbling. But it’s more that countryman Evans Chebet, last year’s defending champion, took full advantage of his knowledge of the course and ran away on the Newton Hills to win the men’s race again, this time in 2:05:54. Chebet, who also won the 2022 New York City Marathon, is back to try to win a third straight Boston Marathon—a feat that hasn’t been accomplished since Kenya’s Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot won his third straight title (and fourth in five years) in 2008.
Chebet owns a 2:03:00 personal best, which makes him the second-fastest runner in the field behind Ethiopia’s Sisay Lemma (2:01:48), the fourth-fastest marathoner in history behind the late Kelvin Kiptum (2:00:35), Kipchoge (2:01:09), and Kenenisa Bekele (2:01:41). Also in the deep men’s field are Tanzania’s Gabriel Geay (2:03:00), the 10th fastest marathoner in history), Kenya’s Cyprian Kotut (2:04:34) and John Korir (2:05:01), and Ethiopia’s Haftu Teklu (2:04:43), Shura Kitata (2:04:49), and Mohamed Esa (2:05:05), Japan’s Suguru Osako (2:05:29), and Norway’s Sondre Moen (2:05:48).
The seemingly ageless Sam Chelanga, 39, and Elkanah Kibet, 40, both American runners by way of Kenya, are the top two U.S. runners in the field. They are both serving in the U.S. Army and members of the World Class Athlete Program (WCAP) based in Colorado Springs. Both are doubling back from the U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon. (Kibet was fourth in 2:10:02, while Chelanga dropped out near mile 18.) Despite their ages, Chelanga (2:08:50) and Kibet (2:09:07) both set their personal bests in 2023, and Kibet has run 2:11:20 or faster in five of the six marathons he’s run since 2020, including his ninth-place 2:09:07 showing in Boston in 2022.
A few other Americans doubling back from the Olympic Trials include CJ Albertson, who ran a career-best race with a strong fifth-place effort (2:10:07), Matt McDonald, who owns a 2:09:49 personal best but placed 65th (2:20:45) in Orlando, and Joseph Whelan, who was 89th (2:22:37).
RELATED: Dave McGillivray’s Extraordinary Boston Marathon Streak is Coming Full Circle
Course Records
For years, the Boston Marathon was typically the slowest of the six Abbott World Marathon Majors races, mostly because of the hilly nature of the course and race tactics. (There are no pacesetters in the Boston Marathon, so tactics develop organically based on the runners in the elite field, weather conditions, and who decides to surge early in the race.) The women’s course record of 2:19:59 was set by Ethiopia’s Buzunesh Deba amid mild weather and a light breeze.
There have been a few exceptionally fast years when cool weather and strong tailwinds have greatly aided runners—including 2011 when Kenyan Geoffrey Mutai set the still-standing course record of 2:03:02. He was followed closely by countryman Moses Mosop (2:03:06), Ethiopian Gebregziabher Gebremariam (2:04:53,) and American Ryan Hall (2:04:58), who ran the fastest-ever time by a U.S. runner. (That’s not an official American record because the Boston Marathon course is not considered record-legal due to it being a point-to-point course with an elevation loss that slightly exceeds the World Athletics limit of 3.33 meters per kilometer.)
RELATED: Boston Marathon Course Analysis
Prize Money
This year’s Boston Marathon has a total prize purse of $1.1 million, of which $806,000 will be distributed to the top 10 women’s and men’s finishers. The race winners will each earn $150,000, while the men’s and womens’ wheelchair division champions will earn $40,000. The Boston Marathon is the first Abbott World Marathon Major event to offer equal $50,000 course record bonuses across the open and wheelchair divisions.
How to Watch the 2024 Boston Marathon and Track Runners
ESPN2 will broadcast the Boston Marathon on April 15 with live coverage from 8:30 A.M. ET until 12:30 p.m. ET. The race will also be livestreamed on WCVB’s Very Local Boston. WCVB will provide coverage of the race the entire day, from 4:30 A.M. to 8 P.M. If you live in Boston, you are not going to forget that Patriots’ Day is also Marathon Monday.
To track runners during the race or to search results immediately after, you’ll need to download the B.A.A. Mobile App. The app, which is available for both Apple IOS and Android phones, features live tracking of all participants, social media integration, interactive course maps, and a lot of other information and resources.
Boston Marathon Weekend Lodging
If you haven’t booked a hotel room yet, buyer beware. The city is mostly sold-out and hotel prices have been crazy high. However, next Monday—April 8—is the cancellation deadline for most hotels, so if any runner who booked lodging but has to cancel because of an injury, a lack of training, or any other sort of last-minute dilemma, some additional rooms should open up this week.