Sports

Boston Marathon 2019: How To Track A Runner

Track your friends running the 123rd Boston Marathon through text, email and/or app alerts.

Matthew Howe, of North Carolina, rounds the bend onto Beacon Street from Chestnut Hill Avenue in 2018.
Matthew Howe, of North Carolina, rounds the bend onto Beacon Street from Chestnut Hill Avenue in 2018. (Jenna Fisher/Patch)

BOSTON — So, you know someone who is running the Boston Marathon and now you're wondering just how to track them on the big day? Well, you're in luck. You can cheer them from afar or find them on the route and maybe, just maybe, find them to give them a high five with some technology to help you out.

Runners in most races these days have chips in their bibs that talk to checkpoint mats equipped to record their time with antennae and magnets (check this out for an in-depth explainer). When your runner and their bib cross the checkpoint it records their number and the time it took them to get there and sends it to the internet, the mobile Boston Athletic Association app or as a text to folks who've signed up for alerts that way.

The BAA will broadcast every five-kilometer split to its website and family and friends can track your progress by logging in and entering your name or bib number. The "face" of the Boston Marathon website will change on race day and the process on how to enter the search will be clear, according to marathon officials.

Find out what's happening in Bostonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

That's right, there are three options.

BAA mobile app

The BAA’s free mobile app sends out alerts after the runner you're tracking (and you can track multiple runners) finishes a 5K (3.2 miles). There will also be two alerts between mile 20 and 21 as your runner is making their way up Heartbreak Hill.

Find out what's happening in Bostonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

To sign up, find “live tracking” and “find a participant” then plug in your pal's name. You can add as many as you want.

Text alerts

You can also just get text messages telling you when your runner crosses the start line, hits the 10K, half, 30K, 35K, 40K and finish line. All you have to do to sign up is text “runner” to 234567 and then text the bib numbers of the runners you looking to track. (More on how to find that below).

Visit the BAA’s website

If you are at home or near a computer, you can just go to the BAA's website to track your athletes from your handy computer. Enter your runner’s bib number or name at baa.org, and boom. You'll be set up for the alerts.

How to find your runner's bib number?

You can search the BAA’s 2019 entry list.

All things Marathon:

Jenna Fisher can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna).


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