Boston Marathon: race week

By next weekend, Boston’s streets will start behaving like a stadium with no roof: the 130th Boston Marathon is on Monday, April 20, and the Boston Athletic Association says 30,000 runners are coming, backed by more than 10,000 volunteers. (baa.org) This race starts 26.2 miles away from the finish, in Hopkinton, and ends in Copley Square after passing through Ashland, Framingham, Natick, Wellesley, Newton, Brookline, and Boston. That point-to-point route is why race week spreads traffic problems across multiple towns instead of one downtown loop. (boston.com) Boston is not just another spring road race. The Boston Athletic Association calls it the world’s oldest annual marathon, and Boston.com notes the 2026 field includes runners from more than 130 countries and all 50 states. (baa.org) (boston.com) The biggest operational change this year is at the start line. The Boston Athletic Association moved from four start waves to six, with official entry listings showing Wave 1 at 10:00 a.m. and Wave 6 at 11:21 a.m., which spreads 30,000 people over a longer window. (baa.org) (registration.baa.org) That change starts affecting runners hours before the gun. Boston.com says official buses from Charles Street begin loading Wave 1 runners at 6:45 a.m., later waves follow at 7:30 a.m., 8:00 a.m., and 9:00 a.m., and the last bus to Hopkinton leaves at 9:30 a.m. (boston.com) For spectators, the disruption begins before Marathon Monday. The City of Boston says Marathon Weekend also includes the Boston Athletic Association 5K and Invitational Mile on Saturday, April 18, and parking restrictions are already tied to those events, One Boston Day on April 15, and the Patriots’ Day Parade on April 20. (boston.gov) On race day, city officials are blunt about transportation: do not drive if you can avoid it. Boston.gov tells visitors to use the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, Bluebikes, or walking, and even advises buying a round-trip transit ticket in advance for a faster trip home. (boston.gov) Brookline gives a preview of how locked down the course becomes once runners arrive. The town says Beacon Street parking is banned starting at 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, April 19, nearby roads close around 8:00 a.m. on Monday, April 20, and no motor vehicles can cross the route there for much of the day. (brooklinema.gov) The weather is one reason this year looks easier to manage than some past Bostons. WCVB says April 20 in Boston averages 58 degrees for a high and 43 for a low, while early local forecasts reported mild conditions instead of the heat, wind, or cold rain that have shaped other editions. (wcvb.com) (metrowestdailynews.com) That does not mean a quiet week. It means Boston gets the version of marathon chaos that comes with decent weather: bigger crowds in Hopkinton, fuller sidewalks in Wellesley and Brookline, and a finish area on Boylston Street that will fill faster because more spectators will want to stay outside all day. (baa.org) (brooklinema.gov) So race week is less about one starting gun than a rolling takeover. By the time the first wheelchair athletes reach Brookline around 10:15 a.m. and the professional men pass Coolidge Corner around 11:30 a.m., the city will already have been in marathon mode for days. (brooklinema.gov)