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Boston's Morning Newsletter
2025 Boston Marathon start times and how to track your favorite runners
Editor's Note: This is an excerpt from WBUR's daily morning newsletter, WBUR Today. If you like what you read and want it in your inbox, sign up here.
It's Marathon Monday! The weather is on our side, as 30,000 runners make their way to the Hopkinton starting line this morning for the 129th Boston Marathon.
Let's start today with a brief guide on how to follow your favorite runner, whether you are among the hundreds of thousands spectators lining up along the course or keeping tabs on their progress from afar:
What time does the marathon start? It's a good question — with many answers. Start times are staggered throughout the morning, beginning with wheelchair racers, followed by the elite pros, para-athletes, and then the rest of the qualified and charity runners. Here's a look at when each group will kick off their 26.2-mile journey:
- Men's wheelchair — 9:06 a.m.
- Women's wheelchair — 9:09 a.m.
- Handcycles and duos — 9:30 a.m.
- Professional men — 9:37 a.m.
- Professional women — 9:47 a.m.
- Para athletics division — 9:50 a.m.
- Wave 1 — 10:00 a.m.
- Wave 2 — 10:25 a.m.
- Wave 3 — 10:50 a.m.
- Wave 4 — 11:15 a.m.
Track your runner: You can look up marathoners based on their name, bib number and other characteristics on this webpage. That will help you figure out which wave they're in and when they'll take off from the starting line. But to track their live progress, you'll need to download the BAA's mobile app on your phone or tablet.
How to watch, remotely: Turn to Channel 5. WCVB is airing live local broadcast coverage of the marathon all day. They'll also have an online livestream here.
- ESPN2 will air national coverage from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. for those outside New England. And the race will be simulcast on regional ABC affiliates, including New Hampshire's WMUR, Maine's WMTW and WPTZ in upstate New York/Vermont.
How to watch, in person: Click over to our full Boston Marathon guide for everything you need to know if you plan to go cheer along the course. The area around the finish line may be most popular, but there are other, less-crowded vantage points that we recommend, particularly along the second half of the race in Wellesley, Newton and Brookline (when runners really need that boost from fans).
- Hidden gems: Here's a list of a few lesser-known spots to watch the marathon that are favorites among WBUR staffers, listeners and readers.
- Getting there: Remember, there are a lot of road closures around Back Bay. So officials recommend public transit, walking or biking if possible. You can find more details on getting around here, plus the MBTA has a handy map of the Green Line and Worcester commuter rail stops along the course.
Who (and when) to watch: The marathon is an all-day event, with runners trickling across the finish line into the late afternoon. But you'll want to tune in around 11:30 a.m. to catch the first runners break the tape on Boylston Street (or even earlier, around 10:15 a.m., if you want to catch the wheelchair racers finish). You can scroll the full field of elite runners on the BAA website. Here are a few names to know:
- On the men's side: Ethiopia's Sisay Lemma, who cruised to victory last year, is back to defend his title. His competition includes two Kenyans: two-time Boston winner Evans Chebet and John Korir, who won last fall's Chicago Marathon.
- On the women's side, Kenya's Hellen Obiri is returning to try to win Boston for the third year in a row, something no woman has done since the 1990s. But she faces a field of nearly a dozen runners who have posted faster marathon times than her, including Ethiopian stars Amane Beriso and Yalemzerf Yehualaw, and fellow Kenyans Sharon Lokedi and Edna Kiplagat, another two-time Boston winner.
- The top Americans: Boston.com has a good rundown of the elite Americans to keep an eye on — including two longtime training partners on the men's side and a former American marathon record holder on the women's side. (And don't be surprised if we get another fast start from CJ Albertson.)
P.S.— While we wait for the starting gun, brush up your Boston Marathon trivia knowledge with our new six-question quiz, based on our recent 26.2 fun facts post.
