By Rebecca Sananes
BU News Service
This year a field of 30,225 runners are set to race toward the Boston Marathon finish line on Boylston Street, competing in the 119th running of America’s oldest marathon. Runners come by foot, train and airplane from all over the world for this storied race – some from unexpected places.
A runner from every state in the U.S. will likely be in attendance at the starting line on Marathon Monday. Unsurprisingly, Massachusetts is the most heavily represented state, with more than 5,00 runners, while Wyoming lags with a whopping 25, according to Boston Athletic Association figures. There are 68 runners traveling the 5,000 miles from Hawaii to Boston to tackle the 26.2 mile course, and 53 lacing up their sneakers all the way from Alaska with the hopes of making it up Heartbreak Hill.
Massachusetts’ neighbor to the north, New Hampshire, is only sending 395 runners, but after the winter New England had, who knows if New England runners have been slacking on their training?
Last year’s winner, Meb Keflezighi, representing California, will be running to defend his title again this year – he is joined by 2,250 other competitors running in from the Golden State, the second-most represented state in the race.
No taxation without representation? Well, the fastest average runners are not representing a state at all – the fleet-footed Washington, DC, has the fastest average running time of 3 hours 16 minutes and 3 seconds.
Mouse over the map below to see how many runners are registered in the US and abroad. (Data Source: baa.org)