Hopkinton! Rise and shine for your daily dose of Hopkinton Today! Catch up on yesterday’s buzz, sneak peeks of what’s ahead, and a snapshot that’ll make you smile.
We’ve got 53 hometown heroes revving up for today’s Boston Marathon from right here in Hopkinton! Check out the list and dive into some cool feature stories on these local legends. Ready to cheer them on?
Important Traffic Alert: If you’re near the Boston Marathon start line and Town Common, remember that roads like Main Street, Ash Street, Park Street, and Hayden Rowe Street will close at 6:30 a.m. today. And by 7 a.m., all other roads leading into downtown will be closed too.
Event Alert: Join the Hopkinton Trails Club for a group walk at the Duck Pond Trail on Sunday, April 21, at 1 p.m. Explore these hidden gems behind the Hopkinton State Park headquarters.
Check out the action-packed start of Saturday’s 100-yard dash from the Boston Marathon start line. Dive into more awesome photos from the Boston Marathon weekend at the Town Common!
Runners are getting ready, and the Boston Marathon is about to start. The first races start just after 9 a.m.
A whole century the race got longer to its full 26.2 mile distance. And the starting line moved from Ashland to Hopkinton. Here’s the scoop on the star runners, the top spots to watch, and info about any traffic jams that could slow you down on your way to the race route.
Race Director helped:
Race Director Dave McGillivray sent off a group of about 30 people just after 6 a.m. He thanked them for their help and told them to have a great time. Lt. Col. Paula Reichert Karsten, one of the marchers, said she wanted to be part of a “quintessential Massachusetts event.”
Hopkinton is celebrating 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 (42.1 kilometers). The start line proudly displays “100 years in Hopkinton.” The announcer welcomed the growing crowd to the “sleepy little town of Hopkinton, 364 days of the year.”
“Running from a setting like this into downtown makes for a more iconic course,” McGillivray said.
Race volunteer Hank Lopez, 63, stood at his post near the start line. On Monday, he would put on a bib and join the race, marking his 100th marathon. He usually runs marathons with fewer participants. This is his 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 would be his 100th. “The marathon is world renowned. It’s go big or go home.”
Total participant in Marathon:
The town, located about 26.2 miles west of Boston, was bustling again on Monday morning as nearly 30,000 runners got ready for the journey to Copley Square. The weather forecast promised sunshine and temperatures in the mid-50s, rising into the mid- to high-60s for those finishing in late afternoon.
Two-time defending champion Evans Chebet aimed to become the first runner to win three in a row since 2008. Women’s winner Hellen Obiri was also among the runners, a year after Kenyans swept the elite races for the third consecutive time.
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