If you’ve ever stood in a porta-potty line in Hopkinton at 8 a.m., surrounded by thousands of anxious marathoners in trash bags, you already understand why the Boston Athletic Association is making changes.
On Monday, the BAA announced that the 130th Boston Marathon — Patriots’ Day, April 20, 2026 — will launch with six start waves instead of four. Bib numbers and wave assignments are live now in each athlete’s online B.A.A. Athletes’ Village account. Go check yours.
The total field stays at 30,000 runners. What changes is how they’re grouped. Instead of four waves of roughly 7,500 athletes each, this year’s waves will range from 3,200 to 7,100 runners, sized according to estimated pace and projected finish time. Fewer people per wave means less bottlenecking — at the buses, through Athletes’ Village, and at the start line itself.
The BAA didn’t just eyeball this one. They brought in crowd scientists. Yes, that’s a real job, and apparently Boston needed one.
“Working with crowd scientists and observing athlete density, this updated start procedure is geared towards creating a continuous flow at each point of the athlete journey on race morning,” said Lauren Proshan, the BAA’s Chief of Operations and Production.
What actually changes on race morning
Boston first went multi-wave back in 2006, when it moved from a single mass start to two waves. It eventually landed on four, with each wave launching roughly 25 minutes apart. Under the new format, those gaps shrink. Wave 1 still goes at 10:00 a.m., but subsequent waves now launch every 13 to 20 minutes — wrapping up with Wave 6 at 11:21 a.m.
All athletes should still be across the start line by 11:30 a.m., in line with previous years. The 5:30 p.m. finish line cutoff also stays put — the same hard deadline introduced in 2025, which replaced the old rolling six-hour rule that left plenty of runners doing mental math mid-race. If you want a full picture of how last year’s race unfolded under the new rules, we covered it here.
There’s also a new two-path routing system into the start corrals. Runners in Corrals 1 through 4 exit Athletes’ Village via Maple Street and Church Street. Corrals 5 through 8 head down Grove Street and turn right onto Main Street. Hundreds of volunteers will be on hand, so you won’t be wandering around Hopkinton alone trying to read a paper map.
The full 2026 start schedule
- Wheelchair Division — Men: 9:06 a.m. ET
- Wheelchair Division — Women: 9:09 a.m. ET
- Handcycles/Duo Teams: 9:30 a.m. ET
- Professional Men: 9:37 a.m. ET
- Professional Women: 9:47 a.m. ET
- Para Athletics Division: 9:50 a.m. ET
- Wave 1: 10:00 a.m. ET
- Wave 2: 10:15 a.m. ET
- Wave 3: 10:28 a.m. ET
- Wave 4: 10:41 a.m. ET
- Wave 5: 11:01 a.m. ET
- Wave 6: 11:21 a.m. ET
130 countries, one finish line on Boylston
The 130th edition draws athletes from more than 130 countries and all 50 states — a number that feels almost too neat to be true, but there it is. B.A.A. President and CEO Jack Fleming noted that runners will be “cheered on and supported every step of the way” through the eight towns between Hopkinton and Boston. Anyone who’s run through Wellesley knows that’s not just marketing copy.
The field includes defending champions from 2025 alongside the deepest women’s elite field the race has ever seen. Getting to the start line at all is its own achievement — nearly 9,000 runners who hit their Boston qualifying time were still turned away when registration closed last year.
The full Participant Guide is available now at baa.org, covering maps, timelines, and everything you need to know for race morning. Updates will also come through the B.A.A. Racing App and social media in the weeks ahead.
Bottom line: if you’re toeing the line in April, check your bib and wave assignment today. Knowing your corral path before race morning isn’t just smart — after months of training, it’d be a shame to spend the first mile of Boston trying to figure out which street you were supposed to turn down.
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