Runners from all 50 states and more than 100 countries have arrived for the Boston Marathon on Patriots Day Monday

Runners from all 50 states and more than 100 countries have arrived for the Boston Marathon on Patriots Day Monday.

Alex Ashlock is covering the race for WBUR, as he has done for more than a quarter century.

In advance of the 130th running of the race from Hopkinton to Copley Square, Ashlock spoke with WBUR's Weekend Edition about some of the Boston Marathon's traditions, changes and memorable characters.