Boston Marathon chills
Forecasts for the 2026 Boston Marathon call for unusually cold conditions—temperatures in the mid‑40s Fahrenheit with a wind‑chill around 37. (local forecast) (nationaltoday.com) Runners and spectators should expect spring conditions that contrast sharply with last year’s record warmth. (race day note) (nationaltoday.com)
Boston Marathon runners are heading into a colder-than-usual race day on Monday, April 20, with local forecasts calling for highs in the upper 40s and a sharper wind chill. (baa.org, boston.com) The Boston Athletic Association says the 130th race will bring 30,000 participants to the course from Hopkinton to Boston on Patriots’ Day. Boston.com’s roundup of local forecasts on April 15 put the expected high between 46 and 49 degrees, with west or northwest winds around 9 to 20 miles per hour. (baa.org, boston.com) WBUR reported that temperatures at the starting line in Hopkinton could be in the mid-30s before sunrise, with clear skies, patchy fog, and wind adding to the chill for runners waiting in corrals. National Today, citing AccuWeather, said the wind chill could feel closer to 37 degrees during the race. (wbur.org, nationaltoday.com) That setup would be well below Boston’s typical April 20 weather. WCVB says the average high for that date is 58 degrees and the average low is 43 degrees. (wcvb.com) It also flips the contrast from last year’s race. In 2025, CBS Boston described Marathon Monday as close to a “perfect weather day,” with sunshine, no meaningful rain threat, and temperatures warm enough to rise into the upper 50s and low 60s. (cbsnews.com) Cold alone is not the worst-case marathon weather, and local forecasters have drawn that distinction. WBUR said the 2026 pattern looks brisk and breezy rather than like the punishing combinations of cold rain and strong wind seen in 2015 and 2018. (wbur.org) Boston’s marathon history gives that comparison some weight. WCVB says runners have dealt with snow in five race years, driving rain in 1970, 2007, 2015 and 2018, and extreme heat including 96 degrees in 1976 and 86 degrees in 2004. (wcvb.com) The field itself is still expected to be deep. Boston.com says 2025 champions John Korir and Sharon Lokedi are back, and the race remains one of the Abbott World Marathon Majors even as the weather shifts from one year to the next. (boston.com) For spectators, the forecast points to a different kind of Marathon Monday than the one Boston had a year ago: less standing around in shirtsleeves, more layers along the route from Hopkinton to Boylston Street. (wbur.org, boston.com)
