Boston Marathon preview
The 130th Boston Marathon is scheduled for April 20 with more than 30,000 expected runners representing 137 countries and all 50 states, and organizers say all four defending champions are set to run ( ). Early forecasts show race‑day conditions trending cool and dry, roughly 5 to 15 degrees below normal for mid‑April, which organizers and elites are watching closely (bostonglobe.com).
The 130th Boston Marathon is set for Monday, April 20, with a full field expected and all four 2025 champions entered to defend their titles. (baa.org; baa.org) The Boston Athletic Association said 32,494 participants are entered and about 30,000 are expected to run from Hopkinton to Boylston Street. The field includes runners from 137 countries, all 50 states, and 4,698 Massachusetts residents. (baa.org) Organizers changed the start this year from four waves to six, while keeping the overall field at 30,000. The Boston Athletic Association said the smaller waves are meant to ease bus loading, Athletes’ Village crowding, and course congestion. (baa.org) The elite field brings back open champions Sharon Lokedi and John Korir, who won in 2025, along with wheelchair champions Marcel Hug and Susannah Scaroni from last year’s race. The Boston Athletic Association billed the 2026 pro field as one of its deepest in recent years. (baa.org; baa.org) Boston’s race is the oldest annual marathon and one of the Abbott World Marathon Majors, which keeps the field unusually international even by big-city marathon standards. That status helps explain why the professional start draws Olympic medalists, major winners, and American record holders in the same race. (baa.org; baa.org) Weather is already part of the buildup. WCVB reported Boston’s average April 20 high is 58 degrees and the average low is 43, while early local forecasts have pointed to a cooler setup for race day after a warmer week beforehand. (wcvb.com; bostonglobe.com) That matters in Boston because the course has produced everything from snow to heavy rain to heat waves. WCVB’s marathon weather history notes snow fell during five past runnings, while 2018 brought driving rain and 2004 brought an 86-degree race day. (wcvb.com) Race week now shifts from forecasts and field lists to execution. The first test comes in Hopkinton on April 20, when the six-wave start and a stacked pro field meet whatever weather New England delivers. (baa.org; baa.org)
