Excitement, nerves building as racers ready for running of 127th Boston Marathon – WCVB Boston

A field of more than 30,000 athletes are ready for the 127th running of the Boston Marathon, covering 26.2 miles from Hopkinton, Massachusetts, to Boston. The world’s oldest annually-run marathon that celebrates community spirit and the pursuit of athletic excellence each year includes entrants from 122 countries and all 50 U.S. states. Dressed in fatigues and wearing combat boots, members of the Massachusetts National Guard left the starting line early Monday to walk the route. The staff at the Fairmont Copley Plaza lined the hallways of the Boston hotel to cheer on the professional athletes as they left to board buses to Hopkinton.Video Below: Hallway full of cheersFifteen professional athletes who’ve run a marathon in under 2:07 will be among the field competing in this year’s race, including the current world record holder and several past champions. “On paper, we have the strongest assembled field in all the different divisions: men’s open, women’s open, wheelchair open — men and women,” said Boston Marathon Race Director Dave McGillivray. “That’s why we run the race. We don’t know what’s going to happen out there, but on paper, we’ve got the fastest field ever assembled for this race.”The list includes world record holder and double Olympic gold medalist Eliud Kipchoge, reigning Boston Marathon champion Evans Chebet, 2021 winner Benson Kipruto, and two-time victor Lelisa Desisa. Last year’s top American finisher, Scott Fauble, will run the course for the fourth time. He finished in seventh place in 2022. American Daniel Romanchuk will return as defending champion in the wheelchair division, coming off a 1:26:58 victory last April. He also won in 2019. He’ll be challenged by wheelchair marathon world record holder and reigning Paralympic marathon gold medalist Marcel Hug, of Switzerland. Professional athletes competing in the women’s field include global medalists, national record holders, Olympians, Paralympians and five former Boston Marathon champions. The field includes 16 women who’ve run the marathon in less than 2 hours and 21 minutes.Returning champion runners include the USA’s Des Linden, Kenya’s Edna Kiplagat, and Ethiopia’s Atsede Baysa. Wheelchair division champions Tatyana McFadden, of the USA, and Manuela Schär, of Switzerland, are also returning to compete. The past champion runners will also face last year’s second and third-place finishers, Ababel Yeshaneh, of Ethiopia, and Mary Ngugi, of Kenya. Yeshaneh came within four seconds of victory last year. Video below: Who to watch in 127th Boston Marathon pro fieldThree-time World Series champion and Red Sox legend David Ortiz will serve as Grand Marshal this year. Ortiz, whose rousing speech united Boston in the aftermath of the April 15, 2013, marathon bombings, returns 10 years later to ceremonially guide the field of participants along the course.Video Below: ‘Great honor’ Ortiz says of serving as grand marshalThe men’s wheelchair division is scheduled to begin at 9:02 a.m. and will be followed by the women’s division and handcycle and duo participants.The field of professional men with begin at 9:37 a.m. and will be followed by the professional women 10 minutes later. On Saturday, the city of Boston and the Boston Athletic Association honored the victims and survivors of the Boston Marathon bombing, 10 years after the attack.Martin Richard, 8; Krystle Campbell, 29; and Lu Lingzi, 23, were killed in the bombings at the finish line of the Boston Marathon. More than 200 people were injured.MIT police Officer Sean Collier, 27, was killed days later during the manhunt for the bombers. Boston police Officer Dennis Simmonds died one year after responding to the shootout with the bombers.Video Below: Ceremony held 10 years after Boston Marathon bombing