The Boston Athletic Association released its final media advisory on Sunday afternoon, confirming Monday's start schedule, weather forecast and elite-field scratches for the 130th Boston Marathon. The first wheelchair division will roll off the line in Hopkinton at 9:02am Eastern, followed by the handcycles, men's professional field at 9:37am, women's professional field at 9:47am, para-athletics division at 9:57am and the first of the mass-start waves from 10:00am. All entries will clear Hopkinton by 11:30am, a tighter window than in 2024 as the B.A.A. continues to refine its six-wave format introduced last year.
Monday's forecast calls for start-line temperatures in the high 30s Fahrenheit in Hopkinton, rising to the mid 40s by midday in downtown Boston, with a light westerly tailwind of five to ten miles per hour and an only low probability of isolated showers. The B.A.A. noted that these conditions are close to historical ideals for the course and that the cool start should help mitigate the late-race fade that has often undone ambitious first-half pacing. Sunday itself is expected to be wetter and cloudier, with the cold front clearing overnight ahead of the gun.
Elite-field updates included the previously reported withdrawal of American record holder Conner Mantz and of two-time champion Peres Jepchirchir, whose spring stress fracture also ruled her out of London next Sunday. Kenya's John Korir heads the men's field as defending champion after his 2:04:45 last April and his 2:02:24 Valencia win in December, with Benson Kipruto, Evans Chebet and Sisay Lemma listed as the primary challengers. The women's race will be headlined by Hellen Obiri, Sharon Lokedi, Fiona O'Keeffe and Amane Beriso, running what the B.A.A. described as the deepest women's field in the race's history.
Para-athletics divisions are once again well represented. Marcel Hug targets a ninth men's wheelchair title, Susannah Scaroni the women's title, and Daniel Romanchuk will look to close the gap to Hug on a course that rewards his strengths in the late hills. More than one hundred visually impaired, upper-mobility and lower-mobility athletes are entered, with category starts staggered through the opening hour. The B.A.A. confirmed that the Patriots' Award will go to NASA astronaut Sunita Williams in a ceremony at the finish-line grandstands prior to the elite men's finish.
Finally, the B.A.A. published revised road-closure windows for Boston, Brookline and the other seven cities and towns on the route, noting that the MBTA will run an enhanced Green, Red and Orange Line schedule from 5am and that Commonwealth Avenue will reopen in sections after the mid-afternoon sweep car. Spectators were reminded that bag policies, security screening and the no-drone rule within a three-mile radius of the course remain in place. Broadcast coverage begins at 8:00am Eastern on ESPN and on the B.A.A.'s international streaming partners; detailed radio and television listings are available on the Association's website.