Boston Marathon facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Boston Marathon |
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Current logo, introduced in June 2024
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| Date | Usually the third Monday of April (Patriots' Day) |
| Location | Eastern Massachusetts, ending in Boston |
| Event type | Road |
| Distance | Marathon |
| Established | 1897 |
| Course records | Men: 2:03:02 (2011) Geoffrey Mutai Women: 2:17:22 (2025) Sharon Lokedi |
 2025 Boston Marathon |
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The Boston Marathon is a super famous long-distance running race held every year in Massachusetts, USA. It takes place on Patriots' Day, which is the third Monday in April. This amazing event started way back in 1897. It was inspired by the first marathon race at the 1896 Summer Olympics.
The Boston Marathon is the oldest yearly marathon in the world. It's known as one of the best road races anywhere! It's also one of the seven World Marathon Majors, which are the biggest marathons globally. The race starts in Hopkinton and finishes in Copley Square in Boston.
The Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) has organized this race every year since 1897. Even when the 2020 race was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they held a "virtual" version. DMSE Sports has helped manage the race since 1988. Runners from all over the world, both amateurs and professionals, come to Boston. They face the hilly Massachusetts roads and changing weather to be part of this special race.
About 500,000 people watch the race along the route. This makes it New England's most-watched sports event! In 1897, only 15 people ran. Now, about 30,000 people sign up each year. In 1996, the 100th Boston Marathon had a record 38,708 people enter. It was the biggest marathon in the world at that time!
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History of the Boston Marathon
Men have raced in the Boston Marathon since it first began in 1897. Women were officially allowed to enter starting in 1972. However, the organizers now recognize 1966 as the first year a woman officially finished the race. Wheelchair divisions were added in 1975 for men and 1977 for women. In 2017, handcycle divisions were also added for both men and women.
The first Boston Marathon was held on April 19, 1897. It was inspired by the marathon race at the first modern 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. For many years, it was the oldest marathon that ran every single year.
The first race was about 24.5 miles (39.4 km) long. John J. "JJ" McDermott won the first race in 2 hours, 55 minutes, and 10 seconds. He was one of 15 runners. The race was set for Patriots' Day, a holiday celebrating freedom. The Boston Marathon has happened every year since then, even during big wars and tough economic times. This makes it the world's oldest annual marathon.
In 1924, the starting line moved from Ashland to Hopkinton. The course was also made longer to 26 miles, 385 yards (42.195 km). This new length matched the standard set by the 1908 Summer Olympics.
For most of its history, the Boston Marathon was free to enter. The only prize was a wreath made of olive branches. But in the 1980s, professional athletes wanted cash prizes. So, money awards began to be given out. The first cash prize was awarded in 1986.
Brave Women Runners
Before 1967, the Boston Marathon rules didn't say anything about gender. The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) also didn't stop women from running in races with men until after the 1967 Boston Marathon.
Roberta "Bobbi" Gibb tried to sign up for the 1966 race. The race director, Will Cloney, said no. He wrote that women couldn't physically run 26 miles. But Bobbi ran anyway, without signing up. She finished the 1966 race in 3 hours, 21 minutes, and 40 seconds. She finished ahead of most of the male runners! Later, the race organizers recognized her as the first woman to run the entire Boston Marathon.
In 1967, Kathrine Switzer signed up for the race using her official AAU number. She paid the fee and used her usual signature, 'K. V. Switzer'. She became the first woman to run and finish with a valid official race entry. During the race, an official tried to pull off her race numbers and stop her. But Switzer finished! Because of her, the AAU changed its rules to ban women from racing against men. Later, Switzer and the official who tried to stop her actually became friends.
Nina Kuscsik helped change the rules in 1971. She influenced the AAU to allow women to run longer races. This led to women officially joining marathons, starting with Boston in 1972. Nina Kuscsik was the first woman to officially win the Boston Marathon in 1972.
In 1996, the B.A.A. officially recognized the women who were the fastest unofficial runners from 1966 to 1971 as champions. In 2022, about 43% of the runners were women!
Race Details
How to Qualify
| Age | Men | Women |
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| 18–34 | 2 h 55 min | 3 h 25 min |
| 35–39 | 3 h 00 min | 3 h 30 min |
| 40–44 | 3 h 05 min | 3 h 35 min |
| 45–49 | 3 h 15 min | 3 h 45 min |
| 50–54 | 3 h 20 min | 3 h 50 min |
| 55–59 | 3 h 30 min | 4 h 00 min |
| 60–64 | 3 h 50 min | 4 h 20 min |
| 65–69 | 4 h 05 min | 4 h 35 min |
| 70–74 | 4 h 20 min | 4 h 50 min |
| 75–79 | 4 h 35 min | 5 h 05 min |
| ≥80 | 4 h 50 min | 5 h 20 min |
The Boston Marathon is open to runners aged 18 or older from any country. But, you have to meet certain qualifying standards. To qualify, a runner must first finish another official marathon race. This must be done within a certain time before the Boston Marathon.
For many marathon runners, qualifying for Boston (called "BQing") is a huge goal. It's a big achievement! This makes many runners work hard to meet the specific time goals for their age group.
Not everyone has to qualify by time. About one-fifth of the spots are saved each year for charities and sponsors. In 2017, charity runners raised over $34 million for more than 200 non-profit groups!
In 2024, the B.A.A. announced new qualifying times for the 2026 race. They lowered the times by five minutes for most age groups. For example, males aged 18-34 need to run 2 hours, 55 minutes or faster. Females and non-binary runners in that age group need 3 hours, 25 minutes or faster.
Race Day Schedule
The race is always held on Patriots' Day, a holiday in Massachusetts. Until 1969, this was always April 19th. Since 1969, the holiday is on the third Monday in April. So, the marathon is always on that Monday, which locals call "Marathon Monday."
The race starts at different times for different groups of runners. This helps spread out the runners and reduce crowding. The starting times for 2019 were:
- Men's Push Rim Wheelchair: 9:02 a.m.
- Women's Push Rim Wheelchair: 9:04 a.m.
- Handcycles and Duos: 9:25 a.m.
- Elite Women: 9:32 a.m.
- Elite Men: 10 a.m.
- Wave One: 10:02 a.m.
- Wave Two: 10:25 a.m.
- Wave Three: 10:50 a.m.
- Wave Four: 11:15 a.m.
The Course
The Boston Marathon course is 26 miles, 385 yards (42.195 km) long. It winds through eight cities and towns in Massachusetts. These include Hopkinton, Ashland, Framingham, Natick, Wellesley, Newton, Brookline, and Boston. The official finish line is in Copley Square, next to the Boston Public Library.
The Boston Marathon is known as a tough course because of the "Newton hills." These hills end with Heartbreak Hill near Boston College. There's also a challenging hill on Washington Street (Route 16) earlier in the race. This hill forces many runners to slow down or even walk.
Heartbreak Hill
Heartbreak Hill is a climb of about 0.4 miles (0.6 km). It's between the 20- and 21-mile (32- and 34-km) marks. It's the last of four "Newton hills." These hills come late in the race, when runners are often very tired. Even though Heartbreak Hill only rises about 88 feet (27 meters), it feels very hard. This is because runners' energy stores are often low at this point in a marathon. This feeling is called "hitting the wall."
The hill got its name in 1936. The defending champion, John A. "Johnny" Kelley, passed another runner, Ellison "Tarzan" Brown, and patted him on the shoulder. This made Brown angry, and he sped up, passed Kelley, and won the race! People said he "broke Kelley's heart."
Race Records
The Boston Marathon course goes downhill from start to finish. Also, the start is west of the finish, which can give runners a helpful tailwind. Because of this, times set at Boston usually can't be official world records.
In 2011, Geoffrey Mutai of Kenya ran the Boston Marathon in 2:03:02. This was the fastest marathon time ever at that point! But it wasn't an official world record because of the course's design. Bezunesh Deba from Ethiopia set the women's course record with a time of 2:19:59 in 2014.
Other course records include:
- Men's Masters (older runners): John Campbell (New Zealand), 2:11:04 (1990)
- Women's Masters: Firiya Sultanova-Zhdanova (Russia), 2:27:58 (2002)
- Men's Push Rim Wheelchair: Marcel Hug (Switzerland), 1:17:06 (2023)
- Women's Push Rim Wheelchair: Manuela Schär (Switzerland), 1:28:17 (2017)
- Men's Handcycle: Tom Davis (United States), 0:58:36 (2017)
- Women's Handcycle: Alicia Dana (United States), 1:18:15 (2023)
Only four times have official world records for marathon running been set in Boston. In 1947, Suh Yun-Bok of South Korea set the men's record at 2:25:39. In 1975, Liane Winter of West Germany set a women's world record of 2:42:24. In 1983, Joan Benoit Samuelson of the United States ran a women's world record time of 2:22:43. In 2012, Joshua Cassidy of Canada set a men's wheelchair marathon world-record time of 1:18:25.
In 2007, astronaut Sunita Williams ran the marathon distance while on the International Space Station! She was the first person to run a marathon in space. The B.A.A. sent her a special race bib and medal.
Different Divisions
The 1975 Boston Marathon was the first major marathon to include a wheelchair division. Bob Hall asked if he could race in his wheelchair. The race director said he couldn't give Hall a race number, but would recognize him if he finished under 3 hours and 30 minutes. Hall finished in 2 hours and 58 minutes! This opened the way for the wheelchair division. Ernst Van Dyk set a course record in 2004 at 1:18:29, which was almost 50 minutes faster than the fastest runner that year.
Also in 1975, the Boston Marathon added a women's masters division (for older runners). Sylvia Weiner won it at age 44.
Handcyclists have raced since at least 2014. Since 2017, handcyclists get the same honors as runners and wheelchair racers. This includes wreaths, prize money, and their national anthems played.
Besides the wheelchair division, the Boston Marathon also has divisions for blind/visually impaired runners. There are also programs for people with other mobility challenges. These divisions have their own qualifying times to encourage athletes. In 1986, the wheelchair division got the biggest prize money in the sport. In 2013, 40 blind runners took part!
In 2023, the Boston Marathon added a non-binary division for the first time. Kae Ravichandran won it with a time of 2:38:57.
Boston Marathon Memorial
There's a special memorial in Copley Square, near the finish line. It was put there to mark the 100th running of the race. It's a circle of granite blocks on the ground. In the middle, there's a medallion that shows the race course. Other parts show a map of the course's hills and the names of past winners.
Cool Race Features
Spectators
With about 500,000 people watching, the Boston Marathon is New England's most popular sporting event. Thousands of media members also come to cover the race.
Along the entire course, thousands of people line the streets. They cheer on the runners, encourage them, and even give out free water and snacks!
Scream Tunnel
At Wellesley College, which is a women's college, students have a fun tradition called the Scream Tunnel. For about a quarter of a mile (400 meters), the students line the course. They scream and cheer loudly for the runners and even offer kisses! Runners say the Scream Tunnel is so loud they can hear it from a mile away. It's about half a mile (0.8 km) before the halfway point of the race.
Boston Red Sox Game
Every year, the Boston Red Sox baseball team plays a home game at Fenway Park on Marathon Monday. The game starts at 11:05 a.m. When the game ends, the crowd leaves the park and cheers for the runners as they enter the final mile of the marathon. This tradition began in 1903.
Dick and Rick Hoyt
Dick and Rick Hoyt were a famous father-son team who ran the Boston Marathon 32 times. Rick had cerebral palsy. Doctors thought Rick would never have a normal life, but Dick and his wife raised him at home. Rick later used a special computer to communicate. They learned he loved sports!
"Team Hoyt" (Dick pushing Rick in a wheelchair) started competing in charity runs. They completed 66 marathons and 229 triathlons. Their fastest marathon time was 2:40:47. They finished their 30th Boston Marathon in 2012. They planned for 2013 to be their last, but they were stopped short of the finish line. So, they decided to run one more time the next year. They completed the 2014 marathon. Dick was named the Grand Marshal of the 2015 marathon to honor his connection to the race. Dick passed away in 2021, and Rick passed away in 2023.
Bandit Runners
Unlike many other races, the Boston Marathon used to allow "bandits." These were runners who didn't officially register or have a bib number. They would start after all the registered runners. For many years, these unofficial runners were seen as local heroes. Even the current Boston Marathon race director, Dave McGillivray, was once a teenage bandit!
However, the race organizers now strongly discourage bandit runners. They say that race support like water, medical care, and safety are planned for the official number of runners. Unofficial runners can make it harder to keep everyone safe.
Costumes
Some people like to run the marathon in fun costumes each year. In 1996, for the 100th race, one runner wore a model of the Old North Church steeple on his back! This church is famous for the signal that started Paul Revere's ride, which is remembered on Patriots' Day.
Ondekoza Drummers
Starting in 1975, members of Ondekoza, a group from Japan, would run the marathon. Right after finishing, they would start playing their taiko drums at the finish line! They did this several times in the 1970s and 1990s. A huge 700-pound (318 kg) drum would be set up to encourage runners. The group also ran the New York City Marathon and Los Angeles Marathon. They even ran 10,000 miles (16,093 km) around the edge of the United States from 1990 to 1993.
See also
In Spanish: Maratón de Boston para niños
- List of winners of the Boston Marathon
- List of marathon races in North America
- The Sports Museum (at TD Garden)
