BOSTON (AP) – The Boston Marathon on Friday was postponed for five months due to the coronavirus pandemic, abandoning the customary Patriots Day start in the hopes of preserving the uninterrupted 124-year tradition of the world’s most prestigious long-distance run.
In delaying the marathon from April 20 to Sept. 14, the city avoids for now an event that draws more than 30,000 runners from around the world, packs them in buses and starting corrals and then sends them off on a 26.2-mile (42.2-kilometer) trek from Hopkinton to Boston’s Back Bay. An estimated 1 million people line the course as it winds through eight cities and towns, high-fiving, hugging and even kissing the runners along the way.
The Boston Marathon has never been canceled since the first edition in 1897, when 15 men drew a starting line in the dirt in Ashland and headed for the city to commemorate the first modern Olympic Games the previous year. In 1918, the format was modified to a relay race due to World War I; the 2013 race was stopped when two bombs exploded at the finish line, several hours after the winners had finished but while many runners were still on the course.
“We’ve shown before that whatever the challenge to our marathon and to our city, we are Boston Strong,” Mayor Marty Walsh said at a news conference on Friday, when the city’s signature event joined virtually every college or professional league worldwide in canceling or postponing competition. “The marathon is Boston. It connects us. It reflects us. It brings out our community spirit and our resiliency.”
The Boston Athletic Association had been silent on the fate of the race even as other high-profile sports events were scuttled. The Masters was postponed indefinitely on Friday; previously the NBA and NHL suspended their seasons, Major League Baseball halted spring training and put off opening day, and all NCAA championships were canceled, including the March Madness basketball tournament that is one of the highlights of the sports calendar.