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A group of members of the Massachusetts National Guard crossed the starting line of the Boston Marathon early Monday morning painted in honor of the city that has hosted the marathon for the last century, inaugurating the 128th edition of the oldest annual marathon and prestigious in the world.
Race director Dave McGillivray dismissed the group of about 30 people shortly after 6 a.m. He thanked them for their service and told them to have a great time. Lt. Col. Paula Reichert Karsten, one of the protesters, said she wanted to be part of a “quintessential Massachusetts event.”
Hopkinton celebrates its 100th anniversary as the starting line of the Boston Marathon. The start was moved from Ashland to Hopkinton in 1924 to make the race the official Olympic marathon distance of 26.2 miles. The starting line says “100 years in Hopkinton.” The announcer welcomed the crowd gathered in the “quiet little town of Hopkinton, 364 days a year.”
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“Running from an environment like this into the center of the city makes for a more iconic run,” McGillivray said.
Race volunteer Hank Lopez, 63, was at his post near the starting line. Later on Monday, he will don a bib and join the race, running his 100th marathon. He typically participates in marathons with far fewer runners. It is the first Boston Marathon.
“It’s the 100th anniversary of Hopkinton and the Boston Marathon and 100 marathons for me,” said Lopez, who ran several marathons this year to make sure Boston was number 100. “The marathon is world-renowned. You have to do it big. or go home.”
The city about 26 miles west of Boston was once again the gathering place Monday morning for a group of nearly 30,000 runners preparing for the run to Copley Square. Forecasts called for sunshine and temperatures in the mid 50s, rising to the mid to 60s for stragglers arriving in Back Bay in the late afternoon.
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Two-time defending champion Evans Chebet hopes to be the first runner to win three races in a row since 2008. Women’s winner Hellen Obiri was also in the competition a year after the Kenyans swept the elite races for the third year in a row.
The top Americans included Emma Bates, who finished fifth last year. The 31-year-old former Boston resident stepped in a pothole midway through the Chicago Marathon last fall and tore tissue in her foot.
The injury caused a setback that prevented him from competing in the Olympic marathon trials in February. So he’s back in Boston, a year after leading the group through Brookline with the crowd chanting his name.
“That was the best thing I’ve ever done in my career, that’s for sure,” he said last week. “Being in the lead and setting myself up for the biggest success I could have that day, it was really special knowing that as long as I believe in myself, as long as I go after it, I can achieve great things.” things.”
Obiri, a two-time Olympic medalist, is among the favorites in Monday’s race, the 128th edition of the world’s oldest and most prestigious annual marathon. Sara Hall, who has finished on the podium in two major marathons, joins Bates in a strong American contingent.
A win for Chebet would be Boston’s first treble since Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot won three in a row from 2006 to 2008. He also hopes a win will earn him a spot in the Olympics.
Despite winning six of his last seven races, including major wins in Boston and New York, Chebet was left off the Kenyan marathon team’s provisional roster. Last week he said he hopes a good finish will revive his candidacy.
Kenya swept the gold medals in the Tokyo marathon three years ago, with Eliud Kipchoge winning his second straight Olympic title and Peres Jepchirchir winning the women’s race. For the three gender positions in 2024, the country drew up a provisional shortlist of five men and six women.
The Kenyans have won the last four men’s races in Boston and three in a row in the distaff division.
McGillivray usually walks the course at night after the race is over. This year she will join the second wave of athletes and will run for the first time with his two children.
“It’s special in many ways,” he said. “I’m running it during the day for the first time in a long time and then I’ll be with my kids. There are a lot of special elements to this year’s race.”
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