Mid-30s, Headwinds Greet Boston Marathon Runners

By AP
Posted on 04/16/18 | News Source: Associated Press

BOSTON (AP) — The Latest on the 122nd running of the Boston Marathon (all times local):

9:10 a.m.

Bad weather is nothing new for the Boston Marathon.

This is New England, after all.

Monday's temperatures in the 30s and rain and wind are similar to the 2015 race, which was just a few degrees warmer. In 2007, the area dodged the worst of a nor'easter that had organizers considering whether to cancel the race. Five races were run in the snow, most recently 1967.

You want heat? They've had that, too.

In 2012, forecasts were so dire that the Boston Athletic Association offered runners an unprecedented chance to skip the race and run the next year, instead. Temperatures climbed to 89 degrees on the course — still not as hot as the 1976 race that became known as the "Run for the Hoses." The 1905 race reportedly topped 100 degrees.

Other years, things got downright weird.

A storm combined with a partial solar eclipse left runners at the start of the 1939 race in darkness. 2002 saw a heavy mist that grounded the helicopters and left TV viewers staring through a haze. And many runners couldn't make it to Boston in 2010 after a volcano erupted in Iceland, spewing ash and grounding flights in Europe for weeks.

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8:10 a.m.

The Boston Marathon last year was sunny with a high temperature of 75 degrees (23.9 Celsius). This year it'll be much colder and wetter.

It was 35 degrees at the start line about 40 minutes before the first runners were set to take off Monday, projected to be in the upper 30s and low 40s throughout most of the race, eventually hitting a high of 51.

Runners awaiting the start are hunkered down under large tents wearing ponchos and layered clothing to stay warm.

Diana Dearden, a 26-year-old runner from Wilmington, Delaware, says she feels challenged by the rain and is worried the cold will lead to problems. She says she's "just trying to take it in stride" but she has lost hope of getting a good time.

Connor Buchholz, a 25-year-old from Toledo, Ohio, qualified for Boston with a race in Pennsylvania in September. He says folks are a little distraught over the weather but they knew it was going to be raining, and he's looking forward to working together with the other runners to accomplish their goals.

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7:45 a.m.

Runners are arriving in Hopkinton and trying to stay dry as they await the start of the Boston Marathon.

It's cold, wet and windy on Monday for the 122nd running of the world's oldest and most prestigious annual marathon.

Bruce Rogers, a 46-year-old runner from Rochester, New York, says he's nervous but excited for "one heck of an adventure." Runners are gathering underneath large tents set up outside of the town's high school. Many are wearing ponchos, extra layers of clothing and grocery bags wrapped around their sneakers to keep warm and dry before the race.

Defending champions Geoffrey Kirui and Edna Kiplagat, both Kenyan, lead a field of more than 30,000 runners on the 26.2-mile trek from Hopkinton to Copley Square.

The mobility impaired division is scheduled to begin at 8:40 a.m.