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Boston Marathon Set to Begin
Two Hours Earlier
New 10:00 a.m. Start Will
Benefit Runners and Communities
Boston, Mass. (Source:
Boston Athletic Association) As was announced in
August 2006, the Boston Athletic Association, in cooperation
with the eight cities and towns
along the Boston Marathon course, will begin the 111th Boston
Marathon, Monday, April 16, 2007, at 10:00 a.m.
The B.A.A. has been discussing
this concept with officials of each of the cities and towns since
2005 and has received support from representatives of each, as
well as those from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
The Mobility Impaired Program,
Wheelchair and Elite Women's divisions will continue to start
earlier. The race will also continue to utilize a two-wave start,
with the first wave beginning at 10 a.m.
The legendary Boston Marathon
course follows a point-to-point route from rural Hopkinton into
Ashland, then Framingham, Natick, Wellesley, Newton, Brookline
and, finally, Boston. The inaugural Boston Marathon, held in
1897, began at 12:19 p.m., and the race traditionally began at
noon in the 109 races that followed.
In an effort to inform residents
of the communities along the course as well as commuters who
may be affected by the new start time, several measures are being
taken:
· The towns and cities
along the course will post information on the early start to
their websites.
· Public service announcements
will broadcast important details about the earlier start.
· The B.A.A. will place
public service advertisements in newspapers that serve the communities
along the course.
Schedule for the start of the
2007 Boston Marathon:
Division Start Time
Mobility Impaired Division (approximately 10 athletes) 9:00 a.m.
Wheelchair Division (approximately 50 athletes): 9:25 a.m.
Elite Women (approximately 80 athletes): 9:35 a.m.
Wave One (approximately 10,000 athletes): 10:00 a.m.
Wave Two (approximately 13,500 athletes): 10:30 a.m.
Below is a road closure and re-opening
schedule for the towns along the Boston Marathon course (all
times are approximate):
LOCATION/TOWN CLOSE OPEN
Hopkinton 7:30 a.m. 11:30 a.m.
Ashland 7:30 a.m. 1:00 p.m.
Framingham 8:45 a.m. 1:30 p.m.
Natick 8:45 a.m. 2:00 p.m.
Wellesley 8:45 a.m. 2:30 p.m.
Newton 9:00 a.m. 3:30 p.m.
Brookline 9:30 a.m. 4:30 p.m.
Boston Variable 6:00 p.m.
In addition to runners enjoying
cooler temperatures and an earlier re-opening of roads to vehicular
traffic, several other reasons factored into the B.A.A.'s decision
to break from its traditional noon starting time:
· The overwhelming majority
of runners prefer to start earlier than noon. Recreational and
elite runners alike are accustomed and tuned to racing marathons
in the morning.
· The event's medical
constituency unanimously concurs with an earlier start time.
· Police, fire and medical
representatives of all eight cities and towns along the route
have responded positively to the concept of the earlier start.
Registration for the 2007 Boston
Marathon has officially closed. The field size of 23,500 official
runners is the second largest in Boston history, behind only
the 1996 100th running.
Established in 1887, the Boston Athletic Association is
a non-profit organization with a mission of managing athletic
events and promoting a healthy lifestyle through sports, especially
running. The B.A.A.'s Boston Marathon is the world's oldest annual
marathon, and the organization manages other local events and
supports comprehensive charity, youth, and year-round running
programs. Since 1986, the principal sponsor of the Boston Marathon
has been John Hancock Financial Services. In 2006, the Boston
Marathon launched ñ along with the Flora London Marathon
also in April in the World Marathon Majors Series. Other events
in the series are the real,-Berlin-Marathon, The LaSalle Bank
Chicago Marathon, and the ING New York City Marathon.
NASA Astronaut Suni Williams
to Run Boston Marathon in Space
Needham native will have earth support running on ground as she
does 26.2-miles aboard the International Space Station.
Boston, Mass. For the first time, a Boston Marathon qualifier
will run the race in space. NASA astronaut and Needham, MA, native
Sunita (Suni) Williams (41) is planning on running the 26.2 mile
race on a treadmill onboard the International Space Station (ISS)
on Monday, April 16, the same day as the world's most prestigious
marathon: the 111th Boston Marathon.
Williams will be supported on the actual marathon course from
Hopkinton to Boston by an Earth Support Unit, headed by her sister
Dina Pandya, fellow Naval Academy alumnus Ronnie Harris and up
to a dozen of her friends, and NASA astronaut Karen Nyberg.
Today, the B.A.A. issued to Williams bib number 14,000, in honor
of the Expedition 14 which she is currently executing.
Boston Marathon Race Director McGillivray sent the bib electronically
to NASA, who will forward it to Williams.
Onboard ISS, more than 200 miles above earth, Williams will be
harnessed to a specially designed treadmill with bungee cords.
A NASA engineer came up with a treadmill vibration isolation
system to lessen the pounding impact on the space station, but
this makes for an uncomfortable running experience that pulls
on the runner's hips and shoulders. She has had to slowly work
herself up from a couple of miles per run since she arrived at
the space station in December, to the marathon distance she is
planning on completing in April.
Williams grew up in Needham, MA, and graduated from Needham High
School in 1983. Her parents Deepak and Bonnie Pandya reside in
Falmouth, MA. Her sister Dina lives in East Falmouth and is employed
at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
Williams qualified for the 2007 Boston Marathon when she ran
a 3:29:57 marathon in Houston, TX in 2006. This is her main motivation
for running a marathon in space. "I considered it a huge
honor to qualify and I didn't want my qualification to expire
without giving it a shot," Williams said. Running a marathon
also gives her a goal for the physical activity that is necessary
to maintain bone and muscle density while in space. "In
microgravity, both of these things start to go away because we
don't use our legs to walk around and don't need the bones and
muscles to hold us up under the force of gravity," Williams
said.
As a member of Expedition 14 and 15, she serves a six-month stint
as a flight engineer onboard ISS. She recently set the record
for women's space walking with more than 29 hours in space. Williams
is set to return to earth this summer.
Back on earth, Pandya and Harris are planning her support unit
which will consist of runners from Delaware, Maryland and Houston,
TX. A spectator support group will be within the 14th mile in
Wellesley in honor of Williams' Expedition 14.
Two NASA astronauts, Jeff Williams and Karen Nyberg, will be
available during marathon weekend in Boston to help educate the
public about the International Space Station and NASA in general.
NASA will have a booth at the John Hancock Sports & Fitness
Expo at the Hynes Convention Center on Friday, April 13, (noon
to 6 p.m.), Saturday, April 14 (9 a.m. to 6 p.m.) and Sunday,
April 15 (9 a.m. to 6 p.m.).
Established in 1887, the Boston Athletic Association is a
non-profit organization with a mission of managing athletic events
and promoting a healthy lifestyle through sports, especially
running. The B.A.A.'s Boston Marathon is the world's oldest annual
marathon, and the organization manages other local events and
supports comprehensive charity, youth, and year-round running
programs. Since 1986, the principal sponsor of the Boston Marathon
has been John Hancock Financial Services. In 2006, the Boston
Marathon launched along with the Flora London Marathon
also in April the World Marathon Majors Series. Other events
in the series are the real,-Berlin-Marathon, The LaSalle Bank
Chicago Marathon, and the ING New York City Marathon.
BOSTON ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION
40 Trinity Place, 4th floor
Boston, Massachusetts 02116
Telephone: 617-236-1652
Fax: 617-236-4505
www.baa.org
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