Boston Marathon week: Bob Hall
Bob Hall, who the Boston Athletic Association says was the first officially recognized wheelchair finisher at the Boston Marathon in 1975, a two‑time wheelchair division winner, and the race’s 2025 grand marshal, died at 74 (baa.org) (wcvb.com). The Boston Marathon field is filling out ahead of April 20 with local interest — MetroWest has hundreds of residents holding bibs while the Seacoast region will send 89 runners from New Hampshire and southern York County, Maine (metrowestdailynews.com) (seacoastonline.com).
Bob Hall, the wheelchair racing pioneer who forced open Boston Marathon history in 1975, died Sunday at 74, days before the 130th race. (baa.org) The Boston Athletic Association said Hall became the first officially recognized wheelchair finisher on April 21, 1975, when he completed the course in 2:58 after race director Will Cloney promised him a finisher’s certificate if he broke three hours. (baa.org) The association said Hall later became a two-time wheelchair champion, and local television station WCVB reported his death on April 12, 2026, eight days before this year’s race on Monday, April 20. (baa.org) (wcvb.com) Boston is marking 50 years since Hall’s first finish at the same time the 2026 field is taking shape across eastern Massachusetts and coastal New Hampshire. The Boston Athletic Association lists this year’s race as the 130th running. (baa.org 1) (baa.org 2) MetroWest Daily News reported on April 12 that “hundreds” of runners from MetroWest and Greater Milford had bib numbers for the 2026 race. Seacoastonline reported the same day that 89 runners from New Hampshire’s Seacoast and southern York County, Maine, were registered. (metrowestdailynews.com) (seacoastonline.com) Hall’s place in the race is larger than one result. The Boston Athletic Association says his 1975 finish began an era of marathoning for wheelchair athletes, with nearly 2,000 wheelchair competitors joining the Boston Marathon finisher family over the next five decades. (baa.org) The association also tied Hall directly to the sport’s standing in Boston, saying the marathon became the first major marathon to include an officially recognized wheelchair division when it recognized him in 1975. (baa.org) Hall was also part of last year’s ceremony, when the Boston Athletic Association and WCVB said he served as a 2025 grand marshal during the 129th Boston Marathon’s 50th anniversary tribute to wheelchair racing in Boston. (wcvb.com) (baa.org) As runners collect bibs and head toward Hopkinton for April 20, this year’s Boston Marathon arrives with Hall’s 2:58 still fixed at the start of the race’s wheelchair history. (baa.org)
