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2023 Boston Marathon spectator guide: Course map, list of runners, prize money up for grabs

BOSTON — This year’s 127th running of the Boston Marathon will draw the world’s top athletes and thousands of spectators who will cheer on the competitors as they show strength, determination, and grit while completing the famed 26.2-mile race.

More than 30,000 race participants will come together on Monday “from around the globe together in pursuit of athletic excellence,” Boston Athletic Association officials said.

The race schedule is as follows:

6:00 a.m. – Military Marchers

9:02 a.m. – Wheelchair Division – Men

9:05 a.m. – Wheelchair Division – Women

9:30 a.m. – Handcycle & Duo Participants

9:37 a.m. – Professional Men

9:47 a.m. – Professional Women

9:50 a.m. – Para Athletics Divisions

10:00 a.m. – Wave 1

10:25 a.m. – Wave 2

10:50 a.m. – Wave 3

11:15 a.m. – Wave 4

If you plan on watching the race, here are some spectator guidelines:

  • Spectators are not allowed to enter the course, run alongside athletes, or impede athletes in any manner. Security personnel, public safety representatives, and volunteers will be located throughout the course and will remove any spectator or non-participant found to be on the course.
  • Spectators are urged not to throw anything onto the course, including but not limited to confetti or streamers.
  • Spectators are urged to pick up any trash from their area and respect traditional carry-in, and carry-out standards.
  • Spectators entering official B.A.A. event venues, approaching viewing areas on the course, or in viewing areas on the course, may be asked to pass through security checkpoints, and law enforcement officers or contracted private security personnel may ask to inspect bags and other items being carried.

“From first-time qualifiers making their long-awaited trip from Hopkinton to Boston to established veterans who’ve covered the route before, we wish all an unforgettable race week,” said BAA President & Chief Executive Officer Jack Fleming and BAA Chairman of the Board Dr. Michael O’Leary in a joint statement.

This year’s race will include “the strongest contingent of professional athletes in marathon history,” led by two-time Olympic gold medalist and world record holder Eliud Kipchoge and reigning world marathon champion Gotytom Gebreslase of Ethiopia. Both athletes will be making their Boston debuts.

Joining them will be defending champion Evans Chebet, two-time winner Edna Kiplagat, 2021 victor Benson Kipruto, and American champion Des Linden.

In the wheelchair division, both Manuela Schär and Daniel Romanchuk return with the goal of earning their fifth and third Boston Marathon titles, respectively.

Top finishers will take home prize money as well, with a total of $876,500 to be awarded to race participants this year, BAA officials said.

The winner of the Boston Marathon in the open division will receive $150,000, and the second and third-place winners will receive $75,000 and $40,000, respectively. The fourth-place winner will receive $25,000; the fifth-place winner will receive $18,000, and sixth- and seventh-place winners will take home $13,500 and $10,500, respectively.

In the wheelchair division, the top winner will receive $25,000, and the second and third-place winners in this division will receive $15,000 and $7,500, respectively.

The top winner in the master’s division will receive $5,000, while the top winner in the para-athletics division will receive $1,500.

The Boston Marathon runs through eight cities and towns. Nearly 10,000 volunteers will be on hand to help race participants.

This year’s race will mark 10 years since the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings. Race organizers said the “positive spirit of unity” will make Monday a very special day.

“As we mark ten years since the tragic events of April 15, 2013, we know the entire Boston and running community will come together in remembrance and reflection,” Fleming and O’Leary said in their statement. “This year’s theme of oneBOSTON is representative of the past decade, where communities rallied, rose above challenges and celebrated the positive spirit of unity.”

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