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Boston Marathon 2022: Route, Course Map, Times, Road Closures and Event Details
April 17, 2022
For the first time in three years, the Boston Marathon has returned to Patriots' Day weekend. The race has been synonymous with the holiday in Beantown since the inaugural running in 1897.
However, the Boston Marathon was canceled in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic. And in 2021, it was postponed to October, with the nation still heavily affected by COVID-19 protocols.
This year's race will be a return to normalcy when it takes place Monday in Boston. It will truly feel like Patriots' Day in the city again, with the marathon being held and the Boston Red Sox hosting the Minnesota Twins for an afternoon baseball matchup at Fenway Park.
Here's everything you need to know about the 2022 Boston Marathon.
2022 Boston Marathon Information
When: Monday, April 18
Start Time: 9 a.m. ET
Course Map: Available on BAA.org
Road Closures: A list of road closures has been compiled by the City of Boston
Preview
This year's Boston Marathon field will feature 30,000 runners. In 2021, 20,000 participated because of COVID-19 protocols. And plenty of talented competitors will be taking part in Monday's race.
There was one major difference in qualification for the event this year: there was no cutoff time. The Boston Athletic Association announced in the fall that every runner who completed a marathon with a verifiable qualifying time would be allowed to participate in Boston in 2022.
That's a big difference from 2014 to 2021, when runners who didn't at least meet the qualifying time for their demographic were turned away. This time, all qualifiers will get to run.
"[The] concept was, through this disruptive period, let's remove [the staged approach] and restore the potential hope that everyone would be allowed," Boston Athletic Association chief operating officer Jack Fleming said, per Alex Speier of the Boston Globe. "It managed expectations differently and it actually gave some people hope."
The 26.2-mile course begins in Hopkinton before taking the runners through Ashland, Framingham, Natick, Wellesley, Newton, Brookline and, finally, Boston, with the finish line near the Boston Public Library in Copley Square.
The men's record for the Boston Marathon belongs to Kenya's Geoffrey Mutai, who completed the race in two hours, three minutes and two seconds in 2011. The women's mark was set by Ethiopia's Buzunesh Deba in 2014, when she posted a time of 2:19:59.
Away from the crowning of champions, though, this year presents an opportunity for runners to compete in the event on its typical date for the first time since 2019.
"I know that this is not the most important thing in the world at this moment with everything going on in the world, but this race means so much to so many people, and not just the runners," Fleming said, per Speier. "It's the volunteers. It's the city. We're really happy to play our part in delivering to them an experience that they've hoped for, that maybe they've seen as a spectator on TV or from a friend, that they've heard about, but that they've never experienced themselves."
Some celebrities will also be participating in this year's Boston Marathon. According to Kevin Slane of Boston.com, among the famous runners will be NASCAR Cup Series champion Matt Kenseth, former U.S. women's soccer players Heather O'Reilly, Leslie Osbourne and Kristine Lilly, former Vanderbilt University football kicker Sarah Fuller and more.
Back on Patriots' Day, the Boston Marathon will feel much more normal this year. And that means the pageantry and excitement of the event will be in full force, yet again making this a special day for participants and spectators alike.