The Boston Marathon is the world's oldest annual marathon and one of the world's most prestigious road races. This year, the 110th running of the event--which is annually held on the Patriots Day holiday--will be contested this coming Monday, April 17. A maximum field of 20,000 qualifying participants (with qualifying times that are incredibly tough) will run the historic point-to-point route from Hopkinton to Boston. An estimated 500,000-1,000,000 spectators will line the 26.2-mile route, making the Boston Marathon one of the most popular, accesible, and exciting sporting events in America.This year, the marathon will be broadcast live on OLN (the same Outdoor Life Network that broadcasts the Tour de France every summer) from 10:30 AM-1:30 PM CST. There will also be a broadcast rerun beginning at 4 PM CST. I can hardly wait. I'm actually taking the day off just to make sure I am able to see it all, from start to finish.
One of these days I'd love to run Boston--but I may have to move up several more age groups before I can reach the qualifying standards. Until then, I'll be content with OLN's coverage.
