Runners gather for start of Boston Marathon

[April 20, 2010]  HOPKINTON, Mass. (AP) -- The normally quiet town of Hopkinton is bursting with activity as thousands of runners gather for the start of the 114th Boston Marathon.

Most of the runners will begin their 26.2-mile trek to Boston in two waves starting at 10 a.m. on Monday, but wheelchair athletes and members of the women's elite field will leave earlier.

The weather conditions should be close to ideal for the famed road race, with a forecast calling for partly cloudy skies and temperatures in the 50s.

The course winds its way from Hopkinton through the Boston suburbs of Ashland, Framingham, Natick, Wellesley, Newton and Brookline before reaching the finish line in the heart of Copley Square.

[Associated Press]

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