Boston Marathon timing

The 130th Boston Marathon will start in stages on Monday, April 20, with elite and adaptive races beginning just after 9 a.m. and the last mass-start wave leaving Hopkinton at 11:21 a.m. (baa.org) The Boston Athletic Association shifted the race to six start waves in 2026 instead of four, while keeping the field at 30,000 participants. The group said the change is meant to ease bus loading, Athletes’ Village crowding and runner flow on the course. (baa.org) The Boston Athletic Association’s race-week materials list 32,494 entrants, with 30,000 expected to run on race day, representing 137 countries and all 50 states. More than 10,000 volunteers, including 1,800 medical volunteers, are assigned across the course. (baa.org) The timing matters because Boston’s field does not leave the line at once. Wheelchair, handcycle, para athletics and professional divisions go first, then seeded amateur waves follow over more than two hours, which spreads pressure across Hopkinton and the route into Boston. (baa.org) Weather is shaping the day as much as the clock. CBS Boston forecast temperatures near 40 degrees at the Hopkinton start, rising only into the mid-to-upper 40s in Boston, with a northwesterly wind of 10 to 25 miles per hour. (cbsnews.com) WBUR reported the setup should favor runners more than spectators, with a chilly air mass replacing the warmer weather Boston saw earlier in the week. The station said the front moving through on Sunday should be offshore by Monday morning. (wbur.org) Boston has used Patriots’ Day as its race date since 1897, and the Boston Athletic Association calls it the world’s oldest annual marathon. This year’s edition is the 130th running from Hopkinton to Boylston Street. (baa.org) For viewers, the Boston Athletic Association says ESPN2 will carry the race from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Eastern, while the on-course action will continue into the afternoon as later waves work through the route. The finish line closes at 5:30 p.m. in Boston. (baa.org, baa.org)