The cheering starts long before Wellesley — or even the starting line. The marathon tradition you might not know about.

Boston Globe

22-04-2025

It's a little less screaming than you'll find in Wellesley and a little more clapping. But it breaks the tension, introducing a little fun and levity to the start of such an important day.
'It's just one more thing that is special about Boston,' said Canadian Rory Linkletter, who ran a personal best of 2:07:02 to finish sixth. 'I said it in the days leading up, the Boston Marathon is to running what the Masters is to golf.
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'It has so much history and so many small things that make it different and separate it. It's amazing.'
The Boston Marathon morning walkout, one of the coolest parts of Marathon Monday.
— Amin Touri (@Amin_Touri)
Every competitor has a different approach to race morning. As the athletes are corralled into a meeting space at the Fairmont before they head to the buses that will take them to Hopkinton, some are silent and stoic. Others keep it light.
'I'm more of a social person in the morning before the race, I like to keep my mind loose and off the race,' said Linkletter. 'I'm not too stoic and locked in, I like to have fun and stay loose.
'The marathon's long. You can be too hyper-focused, in my opinion, for too long.'
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'There's a [Joan] Didion quote — I'll butcher it — but she said something like, 'It's hard to be emotional with your head in a paper bag,' " Linden said later. 'It's hard to be emotional grinding out 26.2 miles.'
Some keep it cool amid the applause, but some of the athletes that were headed for the most successful days were all smiles in the morning. Kenya's Hellen Obiri was grinning ear-to-ear on her way out the door and Ethiopia's Yalemzerf Yehualaw couldn't stifle a smile — both finished on the podium.
A late arrival to the procession was
'It was really fun,' Mantz said. 'My wife was there, gave her a hug and a kiss, and she wished me good luck. It was exciting.
'Everyone's different about the morning. I like to talk to people, I had a lot of friends running in the men's elite field, training partners in the masters and women's elite field too. It's fun to be there with everyone.'
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'It's good to start the day crying,' Feller joked. 'I think what these athletes do is remarkable. They work so hard, they run so fast, and it's hard for a lot of us to comprehend. And so I think to be able to celebrate them up close and personal like that, and send them to the start with a lot of love . . . I think it's the best. I think that tradition is so cool.'
It's over soon after it starts, the applause slowly fading as the last of the elites walks through the Dartmouth Street exit of the Fairmont Copley, a nerve-wracking bus ride to Hopkinton and a much more grueling trip back ahead of them.
But for a moment, the pressure and anxiety are broken by Marathon Monday's first little moment of joy.
Amin Touri can be reached at