BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — The 129th Boston Marathon festivities began early Monday morning, as runners warmed up, volunteers set up, and supporters got up for a busy day ahead.
With over 30,000 runners competing and abundant road closures along the route, many of the runners hopped on the train to get to the starting line in Hopkinton. Knowing the difficult task ahead, one runner said he was cautiously optimistic as he boarded the train.
“First time running Boston. I don’t think I’ll beat my record time, but [I'm] hoping to just enjoy myself,” said the runner. “People always talk about the last uphill on this one: Heartbreak Hill. I’m trying not to think about the name.”
Many of those who qualified for the race were pleased with the race-day forecast, with AccuWeather meteorologists expecting temperatures in the mid-50s to low-60s throughout the race. Race advisor Dave McGillivray said the only weather-related challenge for the runners was staying warm ahead of the race.
“It is a little chilly this morning, so runners will have to dress accordingly once they get out here, but I think once the race starts, it’ll start to warm up a little bit. It won’t be too warm, it won’t be too cold, [it’s] almost ideal race conditions,” said McGillivray.
As one runner grabbed coffee ahead of the race, she said she was very happy with how the weather turned out.
“Hopefully, it’ll be a good race. I’m a bit of a warmer runner, so being in the 60s is really good for me,” said another runner.
Along the Newton stretch of the marathon route, crews were out early setting up barricades and directing traffic. Even though it would be hours before the runners would start passing through, one volunteer said he was ready for an action-packed day ahead.
“Oh yeah, we’re excited. This is like our 15th year doing this,” the man said.
Energy was high in Wellesley as well, where volunteers were helping to put up signage.
“We are setting up these beautiful Adidas signs that go in front of every little town that the race goes through, so as the runners approach the town, they’ll say, 'Okay, I’m in Newton,’” said the man. “That gives them a good visual [to help them] keep going.”
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