BOSTON — First, it was postponed, then canceled. The Boston Marathon is undergoing a high-tech makeover during the pandemic.
Runners who want to race in this year’s marathon can still do so but on their own.
The Boston Athletic Association is making it more realistic for them. On Thursday they unveiled a new app for a virtual Marathon.
>> Boston Marathon going virtual
“If anything I think some people may feel there’s less pressure you don’t have the audience there,” said Bret Clancy, who ran the Boston Marathon in 2019.
Runners like Clancy can take part in the marathon virtually by running the 26.2-mile race in their own neighborhoods. Clancy is part of the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge Team. He said 360 of his 500 teammates will run the race virtually between September 5 and 14.
“The plan on September 12 is to get out there early, pray for good weather, low humidity and we’re going to run from Hopkinton to Boston with a small pit crew of friends and family,” he said.
The virtual mobile app is designed to give runners the feeling as if they’re participating in the actual marathon. It includes a map tracking for runners to see where they would be on the marathon course, plus other features.
“You will hear sounds from the course, you’ll hear the cowbells, you’ll hear announcers, you’ll hear the scream tunnel when you hit mile 13. You’ll feel, hopefully, that sound and experience when you’re coming down the finishing stretch as well,” said Lauren Proshan, director of operations for the B.A.A.
Proshan said it’s a way to bring Boston to the world, regardless if you’re in Toronto or Tokyo or Newton or Natick.
>> Previous: Paralympic runners left with questions about qualifier after Boston Marathon canceled
“You know, head down keep it going and just pretend, pretend it’s the normal race because it’s going to feel like a normal race for sure,” Clancy said.
The B.A.A. said 20,000 runners will participate in the virtual marathon. That’s nearly two-thirds of a typical field.
Download the free Boston 25 News app for up-to-the-minute push alerts
RESOURCES:
- Massachusetts Coronavirus Information
- Boston Coronavirus Information
- Follow us on Facebook and Twitter | Watch Boston 25 NOW
