Boston Marathon logistics

Boston Marathon weekend is already reshaping Greater Boston, with the 130th running set for Monday, April 20, and street restrictions tightening before dawn. (baa.org) The Boston Athletic Association says 30,000 runners will start in Hopkinton and finish on Boylston Street, with athletes representing more than 130 countries and all 50 states. This year’s field is still capped at 30,000, but organizers switched from four start waves to six. (baa.org) The race schedule starts before the 9 a.m. mass field, with professional and para divisions going off first and the main course clocks keyed to the 9:00 a.m. start. Registered runners were assigned bib numbers, corrals, and wave times through their B.A.A. Athletes’ Village accounts. (baa.org, baa.org) The practical issue for spectators is movement, not just viewing. The race is point-to-point for 26.2 miles, so the Boston Athletic Association tells spectators to plan around town-by-town closures and transit schedules if they want to see runners in more than one place. (baa.org) In Boston, the city says parking restrictions and street closures are in effect for Marathon Weekend and Patriots’ Day events, and officials are urging people not to drive personal vehicles into the city. The city points visitors instead to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, Bluebikes, and walking. (boston.gov) Along the course, closures begin early. In Hopkinton, roads around the start line close at 6:30 a.m.; Ashland’s Route 135 is scheduled to close from 6:15 a.m. to 1:20 p.m.; and Framingham’s stretch of Route 135 is expected to close from about 7:45 a.m. to 2 p.m. (cbsnews.com) Natick plans to close Route 135 from 7:30 a.m. until around 2:30 p.m. In Wellesley, roads close at 8:30 a.m. and are expected to stay closed until about 3:30 p.m., while Newton says marathon-route closures run from 8 a.m. until 7 p.m. (cbsnews.com) The pre-race hub is the Boston Marathon Expo at the John B. Hynes Veterans Memorial Convention Center, which runs from Friday, April 17, through Sunday, April 19, and is open to runners, families, and the public. The B.A.A. says the expo includes bib pickup, sponsor booths, and live stage programming. (baa.org) Forecasts point to cool conditions on Monday, with WCVB’s StormTeam 5 expecting temperatures in the upper 40s to near 50 for runners and telling spectators to bring heavier coats. Brookline has also banned parking on Beacon Street starting at 4 p.m. Sunday, April 19, ahead of Monday’s race traffic plan. (wcvb.com, brooklinema.gov) By sunrise Monday, the marathon will already be operating as a regional traffic plan as much as a race, stretching from Hopkinton to downtown Boston. For runners and spectators, the useful deadlines are the early-morning road closures, the 9 a.m. main start, and the last transit trip that gets them where they need to be. (boston.gov, baa.org)