Boston Marathon week briefing
The 130th Boston Marathon is approaching on April 20 and current forecasts show race‑day running cool and dry, with temperatures projected about 5–15 degrees below mid‑April normals. (bostonglobe.com) All four defending champions are scheduled to run this year, and organizers are publicly remembering wheelchair‑racing pioneer Bob Hall, who died at 74 and served as last year’s grand marshal. ( )
Boston Marathon week is starting with a favorable early forecast: race day on Monday, April 20, is expected to be cool, dry, and below normal for mid-April in Boston. (bostonglobe.com) The 130th running will follow the usual Hopkinton-to-Boston course on Patriots’ Day, with the Boston Athletic Association listing the event start at 9:00 a.m. on April 20. Spectator guidance says about 30,000 participants will leave Hopkinton across six wave starts beginning at 10:00 a.m. (baa.org, baa.org, baa.org) This year’s professional field brings back all four 2025 champions: Sharon Lokedi in the women’s open race, John Korir in the men’s open race, Susannah Scaroni in the women’s wheelchair race, and Marcel Hug in the men’s wheelchair race. The Boston Athletic Association said in December that it believed this was the first edition to include all four defending open and wheelchair champions plus both reigning American marathon record holders. (baa.org) Lokedi returns after running 2:17:22 in Boston last year, a course record that cut more than 2 minutes 30 seconds from the previous mark of 2:19:59. Korir is back after winning in 2:04:45, the third-fastest men’s time in race history, despite a fall at the start. (baa.org) The wheelchair races carry their own history this week because organizers are mourning Bob Hall, who died on April 12 at 74, eight days before this year’s marathon. Hall was the first officially recognized wheelchair athlete in the race in 1975 and served as a grand marshal in 2025. (wcvb.com, baa.org) Hall entered the 1975 race after receiving permission on the condition that he finish in under three hours, and he did it in 2:58:00. He later won Boston’s wheelchair division in 1977 and 1978, and the Boston Athletic Association said his push for access helped establish competitive opportunities for athletes with disabilities. (wcvb.com, bostonglobe.com, baa.org) The 2026 race also arrives with another elite benchmark in view: the Boston Athletic Association says Marcel Hug is chasing his ninth Boston victory and fourth straight title in the men’s wheelchair division. In the women’s wheelchair field, Scaroni is back after her 2025 win and remains one of the top American contenders. (baa.org, baa.org) For runners and spectators, the practical picture is straightforward a week out: a deep defending-champion field, a large holiday crowd, and weather that currently looks more like ideal racing conditions than survival mode. The next key date is Monday, April 20, when Boston stages its 130th marathon from Hopkinton to Boylston Street. (bostonglobe.com, baa.org)
