It’s time for the Boston Marathon! The 2025 edition of the race is scheduled to take place on Monday, April 21st, with Kenyan runner Helen Obili aiming for his third straight victory in the iconic race. Athletes will begin their course at 9:06am in Hopkinton, Massachusetts as the men’s wheelchair division progresses and the event airs nationwide on ESPN2.
Start and end times
Obiri and other professional women will begin at 9:47am ET. They will be the fifth group across the starting line. After the men’s wheelchair division began the race at 9:06, the women’s wheelchair division continues at 9:09am ET. Here is the complete list of start times:
- Men’s wheelchair: 9:06am
- Women’s wheelchair: 9:09am
- Hand Cycle and Duo: 9:30am
- Professional Man: 9:37am
- Professional Women: 9:47am
- Para Athletics Division: 9:50am
- Wave 1:10:00 AM
- Wave 2:10:25 AM
- Wave 3: 10:50am
- Wave 4:11:15 AM
I don’t know exactly when the first runner will cross the finish line, but I can provide some estimates based on recent finishing times. Last year, wheelchair racer Marcel Hagg set a track record at 1:15:35 and set his previous course record at 1:17:06 in 2023. He has won seven races, with four of his last five wins now under 80 minutes. He’s back and looking for his eighth victory. If he races at the same time with something close, he will first cross the finish line at Boyleston Street near Copley Square around 9:26am.
Last year, Sisay Lemma surprised the field of professional men with a time of 2:06:17. He raced in 2017, and it was his first return since. The last three races have seen winner finishes under 2:07, with Benson Kiplout running at 2:09:51 in 2021. This suggests that the first expert will cross the finish line just before 11:45am on the women’s side. At a similar finishing time, the first professional woman crosses the finish line in the afternoon.
How to watch (TV and live stream)
Most marathons are only shown on local TV. Major marathons receive greater treatment. The 2025 Boston Marathon will be aired nationwide on ESPN2. ESPN+. The local Boston affiliate that airs the race is WCVB. Coverage begins at 4am, with ESPN+ beginning at 8:30am at 8:30am and running until 12:30pm. ESPN+ will then restore WCVB compensation until ESPN Deportes at 4pm broadcasts races in Spanish from 9:30am to noon.
In the Greater New England region, WCVB coverage will be broadcast simultaneously on WMUR in New Hampshire, WMTW in Maine, and WPTZ in Vermont and New York. Live streams include the WCVB app and websites for each station, and Very local platform.
Course Map
The full course map is shown below. Boston Marathon Website. The starting line is on Main Street in Hopkinton. The runner will take 13 miles on Route 135 and then proceed to Wellesley, where he joins Route 16. They proceed to Newton Lower Falls 17 miles later, before heading to Commonwealth Avenue. Shortly after 20 miles, Heartbreak Hill arrives and offers the final major test of the race. The runner then powers up Beacon Street at 23 miles and travels through Brookline to Boston. At the end of the race, the conversion to Hereford Street takes place, leaving you on Boyleston Street, where the finish line is near the Boston Public Library in Copley Square.
weather
The conditions have been rough for many years, but this year should be an almost ideal running condition. The beginning of the race at Hopkinton It’s about the height of my 40s When the first athlete started. Once the experts are launched, they will be about 50 by the time the 50s is in the mid-50s and the height of the waves begin.
When the first runner reaches the finish line near Copley Square, The temperature must be in your 50s. I’m in my 50s, maybe 60 for the runners later, but not more than that, it’s a great running day.
Prize
The Boston Marathon distributes equal prizes between the male and female divisions. Each Open Division recipient receives $150,000. Winners in the Wheelchair Division T53/54/34 receive $50,000 each. Each winner of the Wheelchair category T51-52 receives $1,500. Each Masters winner receives $5,000.
A complete list of prizes is available at Boston Marathon Website.
Who is your favorite to win the 2025 Boston Marathon?
Hellen Obiri appears to be the first woman since the 1990s to win three straight Boston marathon titles. She was injured last summer to win an Olympic bronze medal and finished second in the New York City Marathon last fall. Sharon Rokedy finished second in his first run in Boston last year, winning the 2022 New York City Marathon. She won the New York Half Marathon in March. Emma Bates is expected to see competition from America’s top female last year and 2018 winner Digily Linden.
On the men’s side, Evans Chebett is looking for a rebound after missing out on last year’s three-peat. He finished third and left the Kenya Olympic team. Sisay Lemma is the defending champion with just his second appearance in Boston, but considering his upset, returning to first place might be another surprise. Connor Manz is the top American who follows Monday.
Who won the final race? What is the course record?
In 2024, Sisay Lemma won the professional men’s category in the 2:06:17 hour, while Hellen Obiri won the professional women’s category in the 2:22:37 hour. Obiri also won the 2023 race at 2:21:38. Geoffrey Mutai set a boys course record in 2011 at 2:03:02. Buzunesh Deba set a record for the women’s course in 2014 at 2:19:59.
In the wheelchair category, Marcel Hug won the men’s category with a course record time of 1:15:35, while Eden Rainbow Cooper won the women’s category with an hour of 1:35:11. Manuela Cher set the women’s wheelchair course record in 2017 at 1:28:17.
In the handcycle category, Zachary Stinson won the men’s category with an hour of 1:04:46, while Alicia Dana won the women’s category with a course record of 1:15:20. Tom Davis set the men’s course record in 2017 at 0:58:36.
