Marathon Monday Gets Approval for 117th Race to Boston

For the 89th year the Boston Marathon will begin at the Hopkinton Town Common and for the 116th time runners will be headed from the MetroWest into the heart of Boston.

The 27,000 runners will be racing 26.2 miles from the starting line to Boylston Street where they will cross the finish line more than two hours later.

The Boston Athletic Association, headed by Executive Director Thomas Grilk, has analyzed every aspect of the race from start times to crowd control and even the process of herding half a million spectators around the course.

“After having 116 of these under your belt you would think that this would become somewhat of a routine but we can tell that you don’t take the process for granted and we can see that each year you’re looking at what happened and how you can make it better and we appreciate it,” Selectman Todd Cestari said. “It really is one of the highlights of the year in Hopkinton.”

Grilk is working closely with race director David McGillivray and head of the Hopkinton Marathon Committee Dorothy Ferriter-Wallace to make sure everything goes as smoothly as possibly.

"We've made some minor changes this year," McGillivray said. "Most people won't even notice them. The starting plan, the waves, the road closures, everything that you'll see will be unchanged."

Road closures this year will include East Main Street eastbound from the highway, Main Street, West Main Street, Cedar Street southbound, Hayden Rowe Street northbound from Chestnut Street, Grove Street, Wood Street from Elm Street to Main Street and the smaller roads within the downtown area.

The closures will begin at 7:30 a.m. and are expected to be lifted by 1 p.m., although last year the cleanup was completed quicker than expected.

For the time and resources Hopkinton’s leaders and town departments put in to the marathon each year, The B.A.A. makes a gift of the town to cover the expenses.

This year's $85,000 is an increase from the $81,000 given last year. Any money left over after covering costs is given to local sports, health and wellness organizations and activities in town.