Interactive map is unavailable on this device or data setting. Route facts and sources remain readable below.
Base imagery: NASA Blue Marble composite; close-up when available: EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless public tiles · NASA · Sentinel-2 cloudless · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Reading the course
What kind of course this is
The Boston Marathon course is a point-to-point road route: it starts in Hopkinton and finishes in Boston. It is not a loop, so the start and finish are in different places. Race-day transport, bag drop and post-race departure all need to be planned as a point-to-point event.
This page separates two things: the course identity and the course geometry. Course identity answers where the race starts, where it finishes and which version of the route is being described. Course geometry is a coordinate sequence that can be inspected segment by segment on a map. For this course, we currently have reliable material only for the former.
What has been verified
- The organiser publishes the route as Hopkinton to Boston, point to point.
- The race uses the standard marathon distance of 42.195 kilometres.
- The course version pinned on this page is
2026-baa-published-course, based on the BAA's 2026 course page and official map. If the organiser changes the route, this page must be re-checked and the version updated.
What this page does not provide
The official course page explains the event and links the official course map, but it does not grant us permission to copy or redistribute the full track. This page therefore shows no segment-by-segment elevation, gradient profile or downloadable GPX, and it does not treat a track from another website as official geometry. The map anchor is an editorial overview position on the Boston side, not a BAA start or finish coordinate; the source page is used only to confirm the general city location.
For precise geometry, use the material published by the organiser. The course used on race day may also change temporarily because of construction, weather or safety arrangements.
How to use this course page
Treat this page as a pre-race orientation, not a navigation tool:
- Confirm the race year and course version first, so that older route information is not applied to a newer edition.
- A separated start and finish means accommodation, transport and the post-race meeting point must be planned separately.
- For training pace and fuelling, see the marathon distance and easy running entries on this site. Do not build a race plan on unverified stories about hills.
- To convert a finish time into pace, use the pace calculator.
Sources and reuse
This original explanatory text was prepared by the RunMap editorial desk from the organiser's public pages and is licensed CC BY 4.0. The event name, official marks, official route text and official map remain the property of the organiser. No track file is included on this page. When quoting this page, keep the source links and version date.
Sources
- Boston Athletic Association (BAA) course information: start, finish and route description.
- World Athletics: the marathon as a standard 42.195 km event.
The exact links appear in the source list at the bottom of the page.