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To wait for sunny skies for today’s Boston Marathon and appearances by some of the city’s most beloved celebrities, including former New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski and former Boston Bruins captain Zdeno Chara. Gronk will be the grand commissioner of the race, while Chara will run her second Boston Marathon.
Gronk will present the trophy to the finish line in front of today’s athletes and complete the marathon course. Last year’s winners, Evans Chebet in the men’s race and Hellen Obiri in the women’s race, both from Kenya, are back hoping to take home the $150,000 top prize, while around 30,000 runners and para-athletes will take to the streets in the hope of securing a place. PR (this is a personal best).
The world’s oldest annual marathon, and probably one of the best known, is underway. Keep reading to find out how and when to watch the 2024 Boston Marathon today.
How and when to watch the 2024 Boston Marathon
The 2024 Boston Marathon will be broadcast live from Hopkinton, Massachusetts, to the finish line in Boston on Monday, April 15, 2024, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. ET (5:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. PT) . The race will be broadcast on ESPN and broadcast on SlingTV and the platforms presented below.
Local coverage of the race begins at 4 a.m. ET on WCVB 5 and continues until 8 p.m. ET.
How to watch the 2024 Boston Marathon without cable
Although most cable packages include ESPN, it’s easy to watch the 2024 Boston Marathon if ESPN isn’t included in your cable TV subscription, or if you don’t have cable at all. Your best viewing options are below. (Streaming options will require a Internet service provider.)
Stream the 2024 Boston Marathon on Sling TV and save 50%
If you don’t have cable TV that includes ESPN, one of the most cost-effective ways to stream major sporting events like the Boston Marathon broadcast on ESPN is through a subscription to Sling TV. The streamer offers access to ESPN, as well as top cable channels like TBS and TNT with its Orange tier. Also worth noting: Sling TV comes with 50 hours of cloud-based DVR recording space, perfect for recording today’s race or your favorite sporting events coming up this year.
You can watch today’s race on ESPN via the Sling TV Orange or Sling TV Orange + Blue tiers. The Orange tier offers 32 channels, including ESPN, for $40 per month. The Orange + Blue tier includes 46 channels, including ESPN and local affiliates ABC, NBC and Fox (where available), for $60 per month. Sling TV is currently offering 50% off the first month of service on all subscription tiers, or prepay for four months of the Orange tier and pay $120, a savings of $40.
Main features of the Sling TV Orange tier:
- There are 32 channels to watch, including local ESPN, TBS and TNT, CNN, and Comedy Central (where available).
- You can access ESPN’s coverage of major sporting events like the Boston Marathon.
- All subscription levels include 50 hours of cloud-based DVR storage.
Watch the 2024 Boston Marathon for free with Fubo
You can also catch the Boston Marathon, as well as nationally broadcast sporting events, including the 2024 NBA Playoffs and networked NFL games next season, on Fubo. Fubo is a sports-focused streaming service that offers access to NBC, USA, Fox and FS1, in addition to NASCAR races this season and MLB games broadcast on the network this year.
To watch the 2024 Boston Marathon without cable, start a seven-day free trial of Fubo. You can start watching immediately on your TV, phone, tablet or computer. In addition to today’s race, you’ll have access to NFL football, MLB, NBA, NHL, MLS and international football matches. Fubo’s Pro tier is priced at $80 per month after your seven-day free trial.
Sports fans will want to consider adding the $7.99 per month Fubo Extra plan, which includes MLB Network, NBA TV, NHL Network, Tennis Channel, SEC Network and other channels with live games. Or upgrade to Fubo Elite and get all Fubo Extra channels, plus the ability to stream in 4K, starting at $90 per month.
Main features of FuboTV Pro Tier:
- There is no contract with Fubo, you can cancel at any time.
- The Pro tier includes 195 channels, so there’s something for everyone.
- Fubo includes most of the channels you’ll need to watch live sports, including CBS (not available through Sling TV).
- All tiers include 1,000 hours of cloud DVR recording.
- Stream to your TV, phone, tablet and other devices.
Watch the 2024 Boston Marathon on Hulu + Live TV
You can watch sports this year with Hulu + Live TV. The package includes access to 90 channels, including ESPN, CBS, Fox and FS1, NBC and USA. Unlimited DVR storage is also included. Watch your favorite sports on every network with Hulu + Live TV, and watch nearly every NFL game live next season, exclusive live regular season games, popular studio shows (including “NFL Total Access ” and the Emmy-nominated show “Good Morning Football”) and much more. With Hulu + Live TV, you’ll have access to live local network affiliate programming without the high price of a cable subscription.
Hulu + Live TV comes with ESPN+ and Disney+ for $77 per month.
2024 Boston Marathon Race Day Schedule
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Below are the start times for each division competing in today’s race. All times are Eastern.
6:00 a.m. – Military walkers
9:02 a.m. – Wheelchair division – Men
9:05 a.m. – Wheelchair division – Women
9:30 a.m. – Handcycle & Duo Participants
9:37 a.m. – Professional men
9:47 a.m. – Professional women
9:50 a.m. – Para-athletics divisions
10:00 – Wave 1
10:25 a.m. – Wave 2
10:50 a.m. – Wave 3
11:15 a.m. – Wave 4
Who should win the 2024 Boston Marathon?
After stopping running for a year due to Achilles problem, 2023 Boston Marathon champion Evans Chebet is back – the only man in the elite division to have already won the race. Hoping to win his third Boston Marathon, the Kenyan runner would become the fifth man to do so. Expect the Sisay Lemma in Ethiopia and the Lemma in Tanzania. Gabriel Geay and Kenya Albert Korir be serious contenders seeking to dethrone Chebet.
At the time of writing, 11 elite runners all running sub-2:20 marathons are expected to compete in today’s race, making the elite women’s competition exceptionally fast – and exciting. Winner of the 2023 Boston Women’s Marathon Hellen Obiri enters today’s race as the favorite. She will be joined by the Ethiopian Worknesh Degefa and American Emma Batesboth of whom are looking to give Obiri a hard time.
What is the price for winning the Boston Marathon?
Winners will share more than $1.2 million in prizes this year. First place runners in the men’s and women’s divisions will each earn $150,000, while second and third place runners will receive $75,000 and $40,000, respectively.
In the wheelchair division, the first place winner will receive $40,000, and second and third place in that division will receive $25,000 and $12,000, respectively.
The top finisher in the masters division will receive $5,000, while the winner in the para-athletics division will receive $2,500.
How long does it take to complete the Boston Marathon?
Participants must complete the race within six hours of the last starter entering the race. Evans Chebet, the men’s best in 2023, finished in 2:05:54, while Hellen Obiri, the women’s best, finished in 2:21:38. The average arrival time is approximately 3 hours 40 minutes.
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