Boston Marathon race week

Race week is underway for the 130th Boston Marathon, and the Boston Athletic Association says the race will be run on Monday, April 20, 2026. (baa.org) The field is large even by Boston standards: 32,494 runners are entered, about 30,000 are expected to start, and they come from 137 countries and all 50 states. (baa.org) Boston Athletic Association officials changed the start this year from four waves to six. The group said the total field size stayed at 30,000, but smaller waves are meant to ease bus loading, athlete village crowding, and course flow. (baa.org) The course itself has not changed. It still starts on Main Street in Hopkinton, runs through Ashland, Framingham, Natick, Wellesley, Newton, Brookline, and ends on Boylston Street near the Boston Public Library in Copley Square. (baa.org) Boston remains the world’s oldest annual marathon, and the 2026 race is part of the Abbott World Marathon Majors series. That combination keeps the field split between elite professionals chasing titles and qualifying runners who spent months or years trying to get in. (boston.com) The professional fields have shifted in the final weeks before the race. The Boston Athletic Association said Milkesa Mengesha and Ser-Od Bat-Ochir were added to the men’s field, while several announced entrants, including Keira D’Amato, Natosha Rogers, Biya Simbassa, and Susannah Scaroni, later withdrew. (baa.org) Race-day weather, at least a week out, looks friendlier to runners than to spectators. The Boston Globe reported forecasts showing temperatures about 5 to 15 degrees below normal for mid-April, and WMUR said the early outlook favored athletes after a warmer week gives way to cooler conditions. (bostonglobe.com) (wmur.com) The six-wave setup also changes the morning rhythm in Hopkinton. Public entry lists show Wave 1 starting at 10:00 a.m. and Wave 6 at 11:21 a.m., with all runners expected to cross the line before 11:30 a.m. and the finish closing at 5:30 p.m. in Boston. (registration.baa.org) (baa.org) For Boston, that means the usual race-week buildup is already in motion: tens of thousands of runners, more than 10,000 volunteers, and a Monday start that will again turn Patriots’ Day into Marathon Monday. (baa.org)