Boston Marathon 2024: 26.2 Fun Facts About This Famous Race

Are you running the Boston Marathon?
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Or maybe you'll be there Monday, April 15, cheering on runners chasing the 26.2-mile finish line.
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In less than a week, thousands of Boston Marathon runners will nervously step up to the starting line thinking about the journey from Hopkinton, Mass., to downtown Boston.
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It’s the most famous marathon in the world. But there’s a lot about the Boston Marathon you might not know.
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Check out these 26.2 fun facts about the Boston Marathon.

The first place finishers at the 2023 Boston Marathon were:

• Men's race: Evans Chebet (Kenya). Time: 2:05:54
• Women's race: Hellen Obiri (Kenya). Time: 2:21:38

The Boston Marathon is the most famous marathon in the world. But it's also one of the largest.

• An estimated 30,000 runners will compete in the Boston Marathon this year. 
• The New York Marathon draws an estimated 50,000 runners. 
• About 40,000 runners participate in the Chicago Marathon.

Running 26.2 miles is hard. But at the Boston Marathon, runners get a lot of support from spectators as they make their way from Hopkinton, Mass., to downtown Boston.

• An estimated 500,000 spectators line the course to cheer on runners at the Boston Marathon.

In 2023, the two oldest Boston Marathon finishers were both 81 years old.

• Hansi Rigney (Carmel, Calif.). Time:  5:07:42.
• Tyson Park (Malibu, Calif.). Time: 5:04:00
• 35 runners age 65 and older finished the Boston Marathon
• The oldest person to finish the Boston Marathon? Several 85-year-olds have done it.

Like tracking steps on your phone, watch, or fitness tracker? Check this out. The average step count to finish the Boston Marathon is:

• Men: 55,374 steps
• Women: 62,926 steps

Ever wonder why the Boston Marathon is held on the third Monday in April?

• It's Patriot's Day. It's a state-observed holiday in Maine and Massachusetts.
• The holiday commemorates early battles fought in the area during the Revolutionary War.

The course records for the Boston Marathon are:

• Men: Geoffrey Mutai (Kenya) Time: 2:03:02 in 2011
• Women: Buzunesh Deba (Ethiopia) Time: 2:19:59 in 2014 

Did you know women were once prohibited from running the Boston Marathon?

• In 1967 Katherine Switzer signed up to run the Boston Marathon using only her initials K.V. Switzer.
• When race official Jock Semple learned she was running the race, he tried to rip her bib number off. But friends kept that from happening so she could finish.
• In 1972, women were officially allowed to participate in the Boston Marathon.
• Bobbi Gibb was the first woman to run the Boston Marathon incognito in 1966.

Finish in the top 10 at the Boston Marathon, and you'll get more than a medal, T-shirt, and race swag:

Prize money for winners includes:

• 1st place: $150,000
• 2nd place: $75,000
• 3rd place: $40,000
• 4th place: $25,000
• 5th place: $18,000
• 6th place: $13,500
• 7th place: $10,500
• 8th place: $8,500
• 9th place: $7,000
• 10th place: $5,500
• Bonus: Break the course record for an extra $50,000

How long has the Boston Marathon been around?

• Well, this year marks the 128th year of the race. 
• The first Boston Marathon was held in 1897. 
• Runners have been stepping up to this starting line longer than any other marathon in the world.

There's a famous section along the Boston Marathon route that can make or break you.

Heartbreak Hill.

• It's tough climb around mile 20. 
• But it's downhill to the finish after that. 

Did you know the Boston Marathon used to start at noon?

• The Boston Athletic Association changed the start time to 10 a.m. in 2007.

Ever wonder how many port-a-potties the Boston Marathon needs for the event?

• About 1,000. And it's never enough. 
• Just ask anyone who's been there to tell you their bathroom story.

Run enough miles, and you're bound to experience chafing.

So how does the Boston Marathon help runners deal with it?

• Stocking aid stations with 150 pounds of petroleum jelly.

Pick up your race packet at the Boston Marathon Expo, and you'll get your race bib (and other swag), along with safety pins to attach your race number. 

• The Boston Marathon gives out about 100,000 safety pins 

Need an easy-to-digest food source to prevent cramping and boost energy? 

• Grab a banana.
• There's an estimated 28,000 bananas at aid stations along the Boston Marathon route.

There's 26 aid stations along the Boston Marathon route where you can get help. 

Thirsty? Feeling dehydrated? Stop at an aid station...

• Runners drink about 35,000 gallons of water on race day.

Thinking about running the Boston Marathon next year? 
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You'll need to run a qualifying race first within a certain time based on your age and gender:

Men: Boston Marathon qualifying times

• Age 18-34: 3hrs 00min 00sec
• Age 35-39: 3hrs 05min 00sec
• Age 40-44: 3hrs 10min 00sec
• Age 45-49: 3hrs 20min 00sec
• Age 50-54: 3hrs 25min 00sec
• Age 55-59: 3hrs 35min 00sec
• Age 60-64: 3hrs 50min 00sec
• Age 65-69: 4hrs 05min 00sec
• Age 70-74: 4hrs 20min 00sec
• Age 75-79: 4hrs 35min 00sec
• Age 80 and over: 4hrs 50min 00sec

Women: Boston Marathon qualifying times

• Age 18-34: 3hrs 30min 00sec
• Age 35-39: 3hrs 35min 00sec
• Age 40-44: 3hrs 40min 00sec
• Age 45-49: 3hrs 50min 00sec
• Age 50-54: 3hrs 55min 00sec
• Age 55-59: 4hrs 05min 00sec
• Age 60-64: 4hrs 20min 00sec
• Age 65-69: 4hrs 35min 00sec
• Age 70-74: 4hrs 50min 00sec
• Age 75-79: 5hrs 05min 00sec
• Age 80 and over: 5hrs 20min 00sec

Well not everybody. 

• But the 30,000 people who run the Boston Marathon are from all over the world (all 50 states and 122 countries)

• The first Boston Marathon held in 1897 only had 18 participants.
• In 2014, 35,671 runners participated in the Boston Marathon, the most in all 126 years.

Did you know there's a handful of movies about the Boston Marathon?

• Patriot's Day
• Boston: The Documentary
• Stronger
• Undaunted: Chasing History at the Boston Marathon
• Marathon: The Patriot's Day Bombing

The late Boston Marathon legend John A. Kelly finished the 26.2-mile race 58 times beginning in 1928. 

• He won the race twice in 1935 and again in 1945.

Fun fact:

• The unicorn on Boston Marathon medals, T-shirts, and other items is the logo of the Boston Athletic Association.

More than 60 companies will participate in the 2024 Boston Marathon Expo, including running shoe brands:

• Adidas
• Altra Running
• ASICS
• Hoka One One
• Newton Running Company
• On Running
• OOFOS
• Saucony
• Skechers

Even though the Boston Marathon was cancelled in April 2020 because of COVID-19, it still didn't stop the race from happening. 

• The 124th Boston Marathon was rescheduled to Sept. 14, 2020, as a virtual race.
• In 1918 during World War I, the Boston Marathon was adjusted to a relay event. 

How popular is the Boston Marathon?

Here's a little Google insight. "Boston Marathon" gets searched an average of:

• 4.6 million times a year
• 385,000 times a month
• 12,833 times a day
• 534 times an hour

• WeeViews Ambassador Lucie Hanes was at the Boston Marathon in 2022 to cheer on every runner chasing the 26.2-mile finish line.
• WeeViews Member Amy Stumpf ran the Boston Marathon in 2022. "This event (in my opinion) is the race of all races!  The experience is like no other, and is one filled with joy, and the celebration of what running means to me.

To all the runners who will step up to the starting line of the Boston Marathon, good luck and enjoy the journey.
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If you're cheering on a Boston Marathon runner at the race or virtually, you'll no doubt help your runner make it to the finish line.
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The next Boston Marathon...April 21, 2025.