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2024 Boston Marathon

What time does the 2024 Boston Marathon start?

Marcel Hug broke the men's wheelchair course record in 2023.John Tlumacki/Globe Staff

Follow along with live updates from the 2024 Boston Marathon here

What time does the 2024 Boston Marathon start? The nearly 30,000-person field will begin the race in staggered waves.

First come the fastest participants: The professional wheelchair racers and elite men and women. Then, it’s on to the athletes who qualified or are raising money for charity.

Here is a look at the start and projected finish times for Monday’s race.

2024 Boston Marathon start times

  • 6 a.m.: Military march
  • 9:02 a.m.: Men’s wheelchair
  • 9:05 a.m.: Women’s wheelchair
  • 9:30 a.m.: Handcycle and duo teams
  • 9:37 a.m.: Professional men
  • 9:47 a.m.: Professional women
  • 9:50 a.m.: Para athletics division
  • 10:00 a.m.: Wave 1 (Bib Nos. 201-7,999)
  • 10:25 a.m.: Wave 2 (Bib Nos. 8,000-15,999)
  • 10:50 a.m.: Wave 3 (Bib Nos. 16,000-23,999)
  • 11:15 a.m.: Wave 4 (Bib Nos. 24,000-32,999)

2024 Boston Marathon projected finish times

  • 10:20-10:30 a.m.: Men’s wheelchair
  • 10:33-10:43 a.m.: Women’s wheelchair
  • 11:37-11:47 a.m.: Professional men
  • 12:04-12:14 p.m.: Professional women

Official timing at the Marathon stops six hours after the last runner crosses the start line. That means it should be around 5:30 p.m.

Here are some notable participants and when they will start their races:

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  • Defending and six-time champion Marcel Hug, who shattered the men’s wheelchair course record last year, will compete in the first wave of the day.
  • Back-to-back champion Evans Chebet will run in the professional men’s wave at 9:37 a.m. He’ll look to become the first man to win the marathon three years in a row since Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot did it in 2006, 2007, and 2008.
  • Hellen Obiri, a two-time Olympic medalist and winner of last year’s Boston and New York City Marathons, will run in the professional women’s wave at 9:47 a.m.
  • Among the top Americans competing are 2018 champion Des Linden and last year’s fifth-place finisher Emma Bates, who will both run in the professional women’s wave at 9:47 a.m. On the men’s side, 50K world record holder CJ Albertson will run in the professional men’s wave at 9:37 a.m.

You can watch the race on Ch. 5 in Boston and on ESPN.


Eli Cloutier can be reached at eli.cloutier@globe.com. Follow him @iamelicloutier.