The Boston Marathon is back and Evans Chebet will be attempting to secure a threepeat on the famed course. The race will air on ESPN2 for everyone outside the New England region and Chebet will look to turn the threepeat for the first time since Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot did it across 2006 to 2008.
Start and finish times
The first competitors will depart the starting line in Hopkinton at 9:02 a.m. ET when the Men’s Wheelchair division gets started. The Women’s Wheelchair division gets started at 9:05 a.m. and Handcycles & Duos get started at 9:30 a.m. The Professional Men’s division gets going at 9:37 a.m. while the Professional Women’s division starts ten minutes later at 9:47 a.m. The Para Athletics Division starts at 9:50 a.m. and then the first wave of everybody else starts at 10:00 a.m.
Based on recent finish times, the first finishers will be the men’s handcycle winner. Last year, Zachary Stinson finished first with a time of 1:11:51. That suggests the first racer will cross the finish line on Boylston Street near Copley Square at around 10:40 a.m. Last year, Evans Chebet was the men’s professional winner with a time of 2:05.54. If this year’s men’s professional winner finishes anywhere near that, he’ll cross the finish line just before 11:45 a.m. Last year’s fastest professional woman was Hellen Obiri with a time of 2:21:38. That suggests the first professional woman will finish around 12:10 p.m.
How to watch (TV and live stream)
The race will air on ESPN2 for nationwide viewers. Coverage on ESPN2 starts at 8:30 a.m. and runs until 12:30 p.m. ESPN+ will offer coverage starting at 4 a.m. ESPN Deportes will pick up coverage at 9:30 a.m.
In the New England region, local television coverage will include WCVB in Massachusetts, WMUR in New Hampshire, WMTW in Maine, and WPTZ in Vermont and New York. Live streams will be available on the WCVB app and each station’s website, as well as the Very Local platform. The Very Local app is available for download on all smartphones or tablets.
Course map
The race begins on Main Street in Hopkinton and runs along Route 35 for the first 13 miles into Wellesley. It joins Route 16, which runs until Newton Lower Falls before turning onto Commonwealth Avenue just after the start of Mile 18. Heartbreak Hill arrives on the 21st mile. The race turns on to Beacon Street in the 23rd mile. The close of the race comes with a turn onto Hereford Street and then a left onto Boylston Street with the finish line arriving near the John Hancock Tower in Copley Square.
Weather
The start of the race in Hopkinton will feature temperatures in the mid 50s with partly sunny skies. Rain on Sunday should cool down the start of the race, and there is no precipitation in the forecast.
The weather in Boston around 12 p.m. when the professional men and women runners will be starting to cross the finish line is projected to be 59 degrees with WNW wins of 13 mph and gusts of 18 mph.
Prize money
The men’s and women’s open division winners will each receiver $150,000. The Wheelchair Division T53/54/34 men’s and women’s winners will each receive $40,000. The Wheelchair Division T51-52 winners will each receive $1,500. The Masters Division winners will receive $5,000.
A full list of prize money is available here.
Who won the last race?
Last year, Evans Chebet (Kenya) won the Professional Men’s division with a time of 2:05:54 and Hellen Obiri (Kenya) won the Professional Women’s division with a time of 2:21:38. Chebet won the 2022 race as well with a time of 2:06:51.
In the wheelchair division, Marcel Hug (Switzerland) won the men’s division with a course record time of 1:17:06 and Susannah Scaroni won the women’s division with a time of 1:41:45. Hug has won the race six times.
In the handcycle division, Zachary Stinson won the men’s division with a time of 1:11:51 and Alicia Dana won the women’s division with a time of 1:18:15.