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Next year's Boston Marathon will have a full, and fully vaccinated, field

Women displays signs and cheer in front Wellesley College, in Wellesley, Mass., as a runner passes during the 125th Boston Marathon, Oct. 11, 2021. (Steven Senne/AP)
Women displays signs and cheer in front Wellesley College, in Wellesley, Mass., as a runner passes during the 125th Boston Marathon, Oct. 11, 2021. (Steven Senne/AP)

The Boston Marathon will return to a full field of 30,000 for next year’s race — and all runners will need to be fully vaccinated.

The Boston Athletic Association says proof of vaccination with a World Health Organization-certified vaccine will be required to pick up bib numbers before the race on April 18, 2022.

The 125th Boston Marathon scheduled for April 2020 was postponed and then canceled, and the 2021 race was postponed until October — the first fall race in the event's history. Those in the reduced field of about 16,000 were required to show proof of vaccination or pass a COVID-19 test to take part.

B.A.A. President Tom Grilk said 93% of the athletes in this year’s race were vaccinated.

“As we look to return to the traditional Patriots’ Day date for the first time since 2019 and allow for as many athletes to participate as safely as possible, we know that a fully vaccinated field is the appropriate requirement to implement,” he said. “We had a 93% vaccination rate among our 125th Boston Marathon participants and want to do our part to continue to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 as we continue our return to racing.”

Registration for the upcoming Boston Marathon begins on Monday.

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