The Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) has announced that the brand new 124th Boston Marathon Virtual Experience mobile app powered by AT&T and web platform will launch to registered participants on Thursday, August 27. The mobile app and web platform will host exclusive content designed specifically for the Boston Marathon Virtual Experience.
The Boston Marathon Virtual Experience app can only be accessed by registered participants, who will be prompted to login with the email used to register for the Virtual Experience. The app features:
- AT&T Spectator Tracking for participants to securely share their unique tracking link with friends and family. Spectators can track loved ones’ real-time GPS, and also see where they would be on the Boston Marathon course (when running with the mobile app);
- Map tracking for participants to see where they would be on the Boston Marathon course;
- A virtual toolkit with printable winner’s breaktape, mile markers, entering town signs, cheer cards, and instructions to make an at home finish line;
- Downloadable bib with each participant’s unique number from the original April 20 race;
- Results and leaderboards for participants to compare times to runners worldwide or locally;
- Audio cues featuring Boston Marathon champions, roar of the Wellesley Scream Tunnel, crowds on Boylston Street and other iconic elements which will play at signature mile markers;
- Pre-race audio including the Star-Spangled Banner, performed by the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and an official start sound to begin a participant’s race;
- Photobooth with Boston Marathon stickers to share on social media;
- And a Shake Out Run for participants to practice the app functionality before their big day.
Participants will have three ways to submit their times:
- Using the Boston Marathon Virtual Experience mobile app, which will track a participant’s 26.2-mile route and time through their phone’s GPS;
- Using a compatible device (Garmin, Apple HealthKit, or Fitbit) which will sync with the Boston Marathon Virtual Experience app and web profile;
- Manually uploading a time directly to the Boston Marathon Virtual Experience app or to the web profile.
The web platform will feature the results and leaderboard, social wall, and virtual toolkit. Prior to race week, participants can prepare their toolkit items, utilize the Shake Out Run feature, and become familiar with the app’s features. Beginning on Saturday, September 5 at midnight EST, race-day features will be unlocked for all participants. In light of participant feedback requesting an additional weekend to run, race week will officially begin September 5. There is no time limit to complete the race, but it must be completed in one continuous attempt. Participants can also run 26.2 miles multiple times, but the leaderboard will only show their most recent attempt.
Step-by-step instructions can be found within the mobile app and web platform. Multi-lingual tech support will also be prepared to answer any questions leading up to and during race week. While there will be no official winners of the 2020 Boston Marathon, the B.A.A. will monitor time submissions, and any finish time found to have been altered or manipulated in an unsportsmanlike manner will be subject to disqualification.
ABOUT THE BOSTON MARATHON VIRTUAL EXPERIENCE
The Boston Marathon Virtual Experience will bring Boston to the world, with participants completing 26.2-miles within their neighborhoods from September 5 through September 14. The B.A.A. will present more than a week’s worth of content that can be accessed digitally worldwide. The Boston Marathon Virtual Experience daily programming will begin September 7 and conclude with the Mile 27 Post-Race Party presented by Samuel Adams on Monday, September 14.