Boston Marathon this Monday

The 130th Boston Marathon is set for Monday, April 20, with the first official start at 6 a.m. and the last wave leaving Hopkinton at 11:21 a.m. (baa.org) The Boston Athletic Association says the wheelchair division starts at 9:06 a.m. for men and 9:09 a.m. for women, followed by handcycles and duos at 9:30 a.m., professional men at 9:37 a.m., professional women at 9:47 a.m., para athletics at 9:50 a.m., and six mass-participation waves from 10 a.m. to 11:21 a.m. (baa.org) That six-wave setup is new for 2026. The field is still expected to be 30,000 runners, but the B.A.A. says smaller waves are meant to ease bus loading, athlete village crowding, and course flow. (baa.org) The race remains a point-to-point 26.2-mile course from Main Street in Hopkinton to Boylston Street in Boston, passing through Ashland, Framingham, Natick, Wellesley, Newton, Brookline, and then into Back Bay. (baa.org) The final miles still carry the landmarks most spectators know: the Newton Hills, a turn onto Beacon Street, then the closing right on Hereford Street and left on Boylston Street near the Boston Public Library. (baa.org) For viewers at home, ESPN2 is scheduled to carry the race nationally from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Eastern, while Boston-area coverage on WCVB Channel 5 starts at 4 a.m. (baa.org, wcvb.com) For viewers on the course, the B.A.A. says planning matters because the marathon runs one way across eight communities. Hopkinton road closures are expected from about 7 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., with limited spectator parking at Hopkinton State Park and shuttle service on race morning. (baa.org) Ashland and Framingham are two of the easier early-course viewing options for people using the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority commuter rail, according to the B.A.A. The group also says its free racing app offers live participant tracking, checkpoint alerts, leaderboards, and results. (baa.org) The scale is bigger than the 30,000 who are expected to start. The B.A.A.’s race-week media guide lists 32,494 entrants, athletes from 137 countries and all 50 states, and more than 10,000 volunteers, including 1,800 medical volunteers. (baa.org) So Marathon Monday keeps its usual shape: an early start in Hopkinton, a long line of runners moving east all day, and a finish line on Boylston Street that should stay open until 5:30 p.m. (baa.org)