125th Boston Marathon Race Day Timeline, Resources, and Information

Submitted by clotsbom on Sun, 10/10/2021 - 18:22

Race Day Timeline: Monday, October 11, 2021 (all times are approximate)

8:02 a.m. ET -- Wheelchair Division – Men’s Start: Official Starter: Amby Burfoot, 1968 Boston Marathon champion (also running this year’s race)

8:05 a.m. ET -- Wheelchair Division – Women’s Start: Official Starter: Amby Burfoot, 1968 Boston Marathon champion (also running this year’s race)

8:30 a.m. ET -- Handcycle & Duo Participants Start: Official Starter: Russell Hoyt, son of the late Dick Hoyt, finisher of 32 Boston Marathons as part of Team Hoyt

8:32 a.m. ET -- National Anthem: Sgt. Daniel M. Clark, “The Singing Trooper,” performs the National Anthem. Sgt. Clark has performed at the Boston Marathon since 1990.

8:37 a.m. ET -- Professional Men’s Start: Official Starter: Patti Catalano Dillon, three-time runner-up, American record holder, and Indigenous runner

8:45 a.m. ET -- Professional Women’s Start: Official Starter: Patti Catalano Dillon, three-time runner-up, American record holder, and Indigenous runner

8:50 a.m. ET -- Para Athletics Division Start: Official Starter: Christina Whelton, member of Boston's renowned Brown family. It is customary for a member of the Brown family to start one of the races on Patriots' Day.

8:55 a.m. ET -- Grand Marshals Arrive in Boston Aboard Duck Boats: Five Boston Marathon champions and eight local frontline workers will serve as Grand Marshals for this year’s race. (More info below)

8:58 a.m. ET -- Flyover: The 104th Fighter Wing from Barnes Air National Guard Base in in Westfield, MA is scheduled to perform a flyover featuring two F-15 fighter jets flying from Hopkinton to Boston. Flying the 26.2 mile route will take approximately four minutes. (Weather Permitting)

9:00 a.m. ET -- Rolling Start Begins for All Participants: Official Starter: Hopkinton Fire Chief Bill Miller

9:23 a.m. ET -- Men’s Wheelchair Division approximate finish time

9:37 a.m. ET -- Women’s Wheelchair Division approximate finish time

10:44 a.m. ET -- Professional Men’s approximate finish time

11:08 a.m. ET -- Professional Women’s approximate finish time 

11:25 a.m. ET -- Para Athletics Divisions top finishers approximate time

11:30 a.m. ET -- Approximate time of final athlete across the Hopkinton start line

Boston Marathon Media Resources

COURSE RECORDS

  • Men’s Open Division: 2:03:02, Geoffrey Mutai, Kenya, 2011
  • Women’s Open Division: 2:19:59, Buzunesh Deba, Ethiopia, 2014
  • Men’s Wheelchair Division: 1:18:04, Marcel Hug, Switzerland, 2017
  • Women’s Wheelchair Division: 1:28:17, Manuela Schär, Switzerland, 2017
  • Men’s Masters Division: 2:11:04, John Campbell, New Zealand, 1990
  • Women’s Masters Division: 2:27:58, Firaya Sultanova-Zhdanova, Russia, 2002

A $50,000 course record bonus is available for both open and wheelchair divisions. The Boston Marathon is the first major marathon to have equitable course record bonuses for open and masters divisions.

COMPOSITION OF THE FIELD

  • 18,252 total entrants of the in-person 125th Boston Marathon
  • 3,492 entrants from Massachusetts
  • 16,441 entrants residing in the United States of America
  • 104 countries represented by participants in the Boston Marathon
  • All 50 U.S. states represented by participants in the Boston Marathon
  • Youngest entrants: 18 years old, Enchee Xu, Conor Beswick, Rachel Calderone, and Angel Robles, all of Massachusetts
  • Oldest entrant: 84 years old, Volkert Bobeldijk of Canada
  • 28,612 total entrants of the Virtual 125th Boston Marathon (October 8-10)

HEALTH & SAFETY

  • This year’s field size has been reduced by 36% compared to recent years (from 31,500 entrants to 20,000)
  • In an effort to enhance social distancing and minimize wait times, Athletes’ Village has been eliminated in Hopkinton this year and a rolling start has been introduced for the first time in race history.
  • 95% of all Boston Marathon volunteers are vaccinated.
  • 100% of Boston Marathon medical volunteers are vaccinated.
  • All participants are required to provide proof of a WHO-recognized vaccination OR a produce a negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours of bus loading.
  • A health and safety bracelet will be provided after proof of vaccination or negative COVID-19 test results are verified. The bracelet must be worn throughout race weekend and through the finish line.
  • Masks are required indoors, on event transportation, and within the start area until participants cross the starting line.

BY THE NUMBERS

  • $876,500 in prize money will be awarded to top finishers by principal sponsor John Hancock. Included among the prize awards is $27,500 for Para Athletes.
  • 8,500 B.A.A. volunteers will contribute to this year’s Boston Marathon and race related events
  • 26.2 miles (26 miles and 385 yards; 42.195 kilometers) will be run through eight cities and towns (Hopkinton, Ashland, Framingham, Natick, Wellesley, Newton, Brookline, and Boston)
  • An estimated $20 million (USD) will be raised through the 125th Boston Marathon for charities as part of the B.A.A.’s Boston Marathon Official Charity Program and the John Hancock Non-Profit Program

FACES IN THE FIELD

  • 13 Boston Marathon champions will be competing as part of the John Hancock Professional Athlete Team: Des Linden (USA/MI), Geoffrey Kirui (KEN), Edna Kiplagat (KEN), Lemi Berhanu (ETH), Lelisa Desisa (ETH), Atsede Baysa (ETH), Caroline Rotich (KEN), Daniel Romanchuk (USA/IL/Won the Chicago Marathon on Sunday), Manuela Schär (SUI), Marcel Hug (SUI), Tatyana McFadden (USA/MD/Won the Chicago Marathon on Sunday), Ernst van Dyk (RSA), and Joshua Cassidy (CAN). Additionally, 1968 winner Amby Burfoot will be running and serving as an official starter in Hopkinton.
  • Five 2020 Tokyo Paralympic gold medalists will be competing in Boston: reigning men’s wheelchair champion Daniel Romanchuk (gold in the 400m); two-time Boston winner and wheelchair course record holder Marcel Hug (800m, 1500m, 5000m, marathon); reigning women’s wheelchair champion and course record holder Manuela Schär (400m, 800m); five-time winner Tatyana McFadden (4x100m Universal Relay); and Japan’s Misato Michishita (T12 marathon).
  • Danica Patrick, NASCAR and Indy Car driver, will run for the Matt Light Foundation
  • James Develin, former New England Patriots fullback and Super Bowl champion, will run as part of the Joe Andruzzi Foundation
  • Chris Nikic, the ESPY-award winning Ironman triathlete who in 2020 became the first person with Down syndrome to finish an Ironman triathlon, will race his first Boston Marathon.
  • Brian d’Arcy James, Broadway star in Shrek the Musical and Hamilton and actor in Spotlight, will race his first Boston Marathon.
  • Ceremonial 125th Boston Marathon Grand Marshals include Boston Marathon champions Sara Mae Berman, Bill Rodgers, Joan Benoit Samuelson, Jack Fultz, and Meb Keflezighi, as well as healthcare workers from members of the Boston Marathon Official Charity Program and John Hancock Non-Profit Program. Frontline workers being honored include Meg Femino of Beth Israel Lahey Health; Martha Kaniaru of Spaulding Rehabilitation; Loren Aiello of Boston Children’s Hospital; Eric Goralnick of Brigham and Women’s Hospital; Christopher S. Lathan of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute; Mark Mullins of Tufts Medical Center; Anely Lopes of Boston Medical Center; and Susan Wilcox of Massachusetts General Hospital. The Grand Marshals will be driven the entire 26.2 miles in two Boston DUCK Boats, Back Bay Bertha and Catie Copley.

B.A.A. RACING APP

  • The B.A.A. Racing App is free and available to download today. The B.A.A. Racing App features live participant tracking, leaderboards, results, interactive course map, race information, and more. Search ‘Boston Marathon’ in your mobile app store and download today.

NOTABLE STORYLINES

  • The Boston Marathon is the oldest annually run marathon in the world, with this year’s race being the milestone 125th running. The race’s history and heritage will be showcased through banners in Boston, archive displays in Copley Square, and at Boston Marathon Fan Fest presented by Amazon.

 

  • This year’s race on October 11 will be the first fall edition of the Boston Marathon, and first time the race is held outside of its traditional Patriots’ Day date in April. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the race was postponed from its usual third-Monday-in-April date to October 11. This will be the first in-person Boston Marathon in 910 days, as the 2020 edition was held as a virtual experience in September, 2020. This year’s race falls on October 11, which is International Day of the Girl and also increasingly recognized as Indigenous Peoples’ Day in cities and towns along the marathon route.

 

  • The Virtual 125th Boston Marathon will be held October 8-10, 2021 in neighborhoods around the world, as nearly 30,000 athletes complete 26.2 miles at home. The virtual component of this year’s race was open to anyone 18 years of age or older, and features athletes from 114 countries and all 50 states. Combined with the in-person race, this will be the largest Boston Marathon in history with nearly 50,000 entrants.

 

  • The 125th Boston Marathon will feature the first ever Para Athletics Divisions, offering prize money and awards to athletes with visual impairments, lower-limb impairments, and upper-limb impairments. The Boston Marathon is the first major marathon to offer prize money and awards for Para athletes in all three categories. A total prize purse of $27,500 will be available, including $1,500 for first place in all three divisions for men and women. Among the 30 athletes competing as part of the Para Athletics Divisions are Paralympians, world record holders, and ultramarathoners.

 

UPCOMING MEDIA SCHEDULE

MONDAY, OCTOBER 11

125th Boston Marathon | Hopkinton to Boston, MA

The world’s oldest annually run marathon celebrates community spirit and the pursuit of athletic excellence each year. A media work room with limited seating will be available first-come, first-served in the Fairmont Copley Plaza Hotel from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Press conferences with top finishers will be held upon race completion, and virtual media interviews will be available here beginning approximately at 11:15 a.m.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 12

Boston Marathon Champions’ Press Conference | 10:00 a.m. | Fairmont Copley Plaza Hotel

This press conference will feature champions of the 125th Boston Marathon and other notable finishers, as well as officials from the Boston Athletic Association.

For the 36th year, John Hancock will serve as principal sponsor of the Boston Marathon. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 Boston Marathon was moved from its traditional date of the third Monday in April to Monday, October 11. The fall race will feature a field size of 20,000 participants, as well as a rolling start for the first time. The in-person race will be complemented by a virtual race, which will be held from Friday, October 8 through Sunday, October 10.