One week from today, more than 30,000 runners from 137 countries and all 50 US states will line up in Hopkinton, Massachusetts for the 130th running of the Boston Marathon. Patriots Day, April 20, is the date. The Boston Athletic Association has added six start waves this year, up from four in prior editions, which should help distribute the field more evenly along the course and reduce the congestion in the early miles. It is the world's oldest annual marathon, and this year's edition comes with one of the most compelling elite fields in recent memory and a handful of storylines worth tracking before the gun goes off Monday morning.
On the men's side, Benson Kipruto holds the fastest time in the field, having run a 2:02:16 at the 2024 Tokyo Marathon. Reigning open division champion John Korir of Kenya returns to defend his title. The Kenyan depth in the men's field is significant, but American distance running has been quietly building toward something for several years. A group of US men with times under 2:10 could push toward a top-five finish if the conditions cooperate. Boston's course is not a world record course because of its point-to-point layout and net elevation drop, which disqualifies it from record certification, but the weather in late April can swing from ideal to punishing fast. The Newton Hills in miles 17 through 21 will separate the field, as they always do, and the ability to manage that stretch after 16 miles of accumulated effort is where the race typically gets decided.
The women's race may be where the bigger story develops. Sharon Lokedi, the reigning open division champion, returns to defend her title. The field around her has the depth to make this one of the more competitive women's races in recent Boston history. There is real potential for an American woman to break through in a way the sport has been waiting for, and Boston is the course where that kind of breakthrough lands with the most historical weight. American distance running at the women's elite level has been building momentum since 2022, producing times and performances that suggest a major championship-level result is coming. Whether that moment arrives on Boylston Street next Monday is one of the genuine open questions going into race week.
In the wheelchair division, Switzerland's Marcel Hug is targeting his fourth consecutive Patriots Day victory, which would be a remarkable run of dominance on a course that punishes any weakness in technical execution. Manuela Schär holds the course record in the women's wheelchair division at 1:28:17, and she is also in the field. The wheelchair race runs with the same field on the same course and deserves more coverage than it typically gets from mainstream sports outlets.
One number worth knowing heading into this year: the BAA expects participation from 137 countries, which would make the 130th edition one of the most internationally diverse Boston Marathons ever held. Nashville runners have qualified in numbers that reflect the city's growing distance running community, with training groups built around the Shelby Bottoms Greenway and other greenway corridors producing Boston-qualified times that would not have been common from this city a decade ago. The field that gathers in Hopkinton each April now includes deep pools of runners from cities that were not traditionally associated with marathon culture, and that expansion has changed what the race means to the people participating in it. Whether you are making the trip to the Back Bay or following from home, the 130th Boston Marathon is worth your full attention on April 20.