Over 100 runners from Western Mass. are taking part in the race.
The elite women start the 115th running of the Boston Marathon, in Hopkinton, Mass., Monday, April 18, 2011. (AP Photo/Stew Milne)HOPKINTON, Mass. (AP) — Thousands of runners are gathered in the small and normally quiet town of Hopkinton for the 115th running of the Boston Marathon.
The wheelchair field was first across the finish line Monday morning, followed by the elite women. Then the clock started on the elite men and the sold-out field of 26,964 other runners who are running the 26.2 miles from Hopkinton to Boston's Back Bay.
It was 46 degrees in Hopkinton at the start with a tailwind of 14 mph. Temperatures were expected to climb into the high 50s and low 60s — perfect weather that could put the course record in jeopardy.
Buses carrying the athletes began arriving shortly after dawn Monday. Most runners leave at 10 a.m. with the finish line 26.2 miles away in Boston's Copley Square.
Police have been shutting down roads along the route, which also winds through Ashland, Framingham, Natick, Wellesley, Newton and Brookline.
Defending champions Robert Kiprono Cheruiyot of Kenya and Teyba Erkesso of Ethiopia have return to defend the men's and women's titles, respectively. But they will face plenty of competition along the way.
Defending men's wheelchair champion Ernst Van Dyk is seeking an unprecedented 10th Boston title.
The race forecast calls for temperatures in the 50s with a tailwind that could help the runners.