Your guide to the 2025 Boston Marathon: What to know, how to watch, and more
Wheelchair athlete and
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Fellow 2024 champions
An hour after the start of the elite races, the first wave in the field of 30,000 athletes will begin their 26.2-mile pilgrimage from Hopkinton to Copley Square.
Here's everything you need to know ahead of Patriots Day, whether you're a competitor or a spectator.
Date and how to watch
Date:
Monday, April 21
TV:
WCVB (Channel 5) and ESPN2
Streaming:
WCVB, Very Local App
Entry list:
Start times
The race will follow its typical wave-start format, beginning with the men's wheelchair division at 9:06 a.m. Preceding the race start will be the military marchers — members of the Massachusetts National Guard — who will begin their trek from the start line at 6 a.m. Here's the full lineup:
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9:06 a.m.:
Men's wheelchair
9:09 a.m.:
Women's wheelchair
9:30 a.m.:
Handcycles and duos
9:37 a.m.:
Elite men
9:47 a.m.:
Elite women
9:50 a.m.:
Para athletics divisions
10:00 a.m.:
Wave 1
10:25 a.m.:
Wave 2
10:50 a.m.:
Wave 3
11:15 a.m.:
Wave 4
The route
Participants will follow Route 135 from Main Street in Hopkinton and wind through Ashland, Framingham, and Natick, then into Wellesley.
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The marathon continues on Route 16 through Wellesley into Newton, where it turns right onto Commonwealth Avenue (Route 30) through the Newton Hills and bearing right at the reservoir onto Chestnut Hill Avenue.
The route then turns left on Beacon Street, continuing into Kenmore Square before rejoining Commonwealth Avenue. The final stretch includes the iconic right turn onto Hereford Street and left onto Boylston Street before finishing near the Hancock Tower in Copley Square.
City officials are urging spectators to take public transit, walk, or bike on race day, and the B.A.A. released
Many roads along the course will be closed to traffic, and parking will be limited.
Last year's race
Lemma arrived in Boston for the 128th Boston Marathon having come up short three times in seven years, dropping out in 2017 and 2022 and finishing in 30th in 2019. He put those failures behind him last year,
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'I'm very happy that I won today, because several times after past races I joked that I was going to come to Boston and redeem myself,' Lemma said after the race.
On the women's side, Obiri ran neck-and-neck with fellow Kenyan Sharon Lokedi in the last 2 miles and
'I had a plan to run the race like that,' Obiri said. 'I did a lot of speed work because I knew there would be strong [runners], and they would be waiting on me.'
In the men's wheelchair division, a crash in Newton threatened Marcel Hug's record-setting pace, but the Swiss athlete continued his dominance on the Boston course with a 1:15:33 wire-to-wire victory — 1:33 faster than the course standard he set in 2023 — for his seventh Boston win overall.
The women's wheelchair race featured a 1:35:11 win from a new and unexpected name, 22-year-old Eden Rainbow-Cooper, who became Great Britain's first Boston champion in the division.
Sisay Lemma, winner of the 2024 men's open division, and Hellen Obiri, winner of the women's division, will return to the field this year to defend their titles.
Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff
Elite fields
Obiri and Lemma will face steep competition in their title defenses, as this year's elite fields include 21 men who have run under 2 hours, 9 minutes and 17 women who have run under 2:23.
'Defending a win is never easy, and to win the Boston Marathon twice in a row was hard, but I am happy to have done it,'
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Among the threats to Obiri's three-peat bid are Ethiopia's Amane Beriso and Yalemzerf Yehualaw, whose personal bests top the women's field, at 2:14:58 and 2:16:52, respectively.
The top American woman is Keira D'Amato, whose lifetime best of 2:19:12 — set at the Houston Marathon in 2022 — was the national record at the time. She'll have to contend with one of the strongest American fields in Boston history, including Emma Bates (
'This year is just unbelievably deep,'
Lemma's 2:01:48 lifetime best, set in Valencia in 2023, is tops in the men's field, but he'll have to watch out for two-time Boston champion Evans Chebet, who may be out for revenge.
Lemma's win in Boston last year spoiled Chebet's three-peat bid, as the Kenyan settled for third place after winning in 2022 and 2023. John Korir and Albert Korir, also from Kenya, will be back as well, after finishing fourth and fifth, respectively, last year.
Among American men, Olympians Conner Mantz and Clayton Young — who finished eighth and ninth, respectively, in last summer's Paris Games — are in the field for Boston. So is CJ Albertson, who finished seventh last year and first among US men. Also in the Boston field will be four runners who finished in the top 10 at last year's US Olympic trials: Zach Panning, Nathan Martin, Reed Fischer, and Colin Bennie.
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Hug has been untouchable in men's wheelchair competitions in recent years as he chases Ernst Van Dyk's record of 10 Boston Marathon wins. Hug's Boston course record of 1:15:33, set last year, was a personal best and is nearly five minutes faster than the second-fastest time in this year's field, which belongs to Great Britain's Johnboy Smith (1:20:05).
'It's simple — I love Boston,'
Rainbow-Cooper was a relative unknown before winning Boston a year ago, the first major marathon win of her career.
Switzerland's Manuela Schar, a three-time champion, finished in second place behind Rainbow-Cooper last year and is a favorite again this year. Her lifetime best of 1:28:17 (Boston, 2017) is second among racers in this year's field, behind only Susannah Scaroni of the US (1:27:31).
For a full list of entries in each of the elite fields, scroll to the bottom of this page.
By the numbers
129
— Citizens of 129 countries and all 50 states are set to compete in this year's race — including 4,600 from Massachusetts.
9,500
— More than 9,500 people will volunteer to support the weekend's festivities, from assisting pre-race preparation to doling out bib numbers at the expo to handing out water along the course and more.
6:51
— Time qualifiers for this year's Boston Marathon had to run at least 6 minutes, 51 seconds under the qualifying standard for their age group — a stricter standard than ever.
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$1.13 million
— The total prize pool for this year's marathon has once again eclipsed the $1 million threshold. The top prize in the open divisions is $150,000, and the champion in each wheelchair division is now $50,000, up from $40,000 in recent years. Athletes who set a course record can earn a $50,000 bonus.
21
— The number of men in the elite field who have run sub-2-hour-9-minute marathons.
Charity runners
There are
Last year,
Henry Richard (second from right), brother of Martin Richard, crosses the finish line during the 2024 Boston Marathon.
Danielle Parhizkaran/Globe Staff
Grand Marshal information
Four-time Boston Marathon winner Bill Rodgers and wheelchair athlete Bob Hall, the first officially recognized wheelchair athlete to race the Boston Marathon, will be the Grand Marshals for this year's marathon and will guide athletes along the course.
What's new this year?
The BAA unveiled a new look for its Boston Marathon medals this year.
The medal has a different shape — a full circle compared to the half-circle atop a rectangular base of past years. The branding for the race's sponsor, Bank of America, is featured less prominently than it was last year
New medal unlocked.🦄🏅🔓
— Boston Marathon (@bostonmarathon)
2025 Boston Marathon schedule of events
Expo and bib pickup
Athletic brands, companies, and other exhibitors will fill the Hynes Convention Center for three days to display, promote, and sell their products. The expo also features running seminars and presentations, guest appearances, and other activities.
Race bibs can be picked up during the Expo. The Expo hours are as follows:
Friday, April 18 from 10 a.m.-7 p.m.
Saturday, April 19 from 9 a.m.-7 p.m.
Sunday, April 20 from 9 a.m.-6 p.m.
Fan Fest
Check out City Hall Plaza for appearances from Boston champions, activities, live music, photo ops, and more.
The schedule:
Friday, April 18 from 3- 8 p.m.
Saturday, April 19 from 11 a.m.-8 p.m.
Sunday, April 20 from 11 a.m.-6 p.m.
2025 Boston Marathon elite fields
Here's a look at the athletes in each of the four elite fields.
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