Boston Marathon week begins

Boston Marathon week is underway, with the 130th running set for Monday, April 20, from Hopkinton to Boston. (baa.org) The Boston Athletic Association said race weekend will include the public expo from Friday, April 17, through Sunday, April 19, at the John B. Hynes Veterans Memorial Convention Center on Boylston Street. Fan Fest and the Mile 27 post-race party are also scheduled in Boston that weekend. (baa.org) Local lists are already putting names to the field. MetroWest Daily News reported that “hundreds” of residents from MetroWest and Greater Milford have bib numbers for this year’s race, while Seacoast-area coverage has identified runners town by town ahead of Marathon Monday. (metrowestdailynews.com) (seacoastonline.com) The charity side of the field is large again in 2026. The Boston Athletic Association said 193 nonprofit organizations were selected for this year’s Official Charity Program, which gives invitational entries to runners raising money before the race. (baa.org) That structure helps explain why race week spreads far beyond elite qualifiers. The Boston Athletic Association said the field includes time qualifiers, invited professional and para athletes, and invitational entrants such as charity runners. (baa.org) The race remains one of the sport’s anchor events. The Boston Athletic Association calls it the world’s oldest annual marathon, first organized in 1897 and held each April on Patriots’ Day. (baa.org 1) (baa.org 2) For runners, this week is when training gives way to logistics: bib pickup, travel, hotel check-ins, and course planning from the start in Hopkinton to the finish on Boylston Street. The official event page lists a 9 a.m. start time for April 20. (baa.org) By next weekend, the crowds at the expo and the names in local hometown lists will turn into a full starting field on the roads west of Boston. On Monday, April 20, those runners head for the same finish line on Boylston Street. (baa.org 1) (baa.org 2)