FAQ

Just keep moving through the finish area. Your medal will be awarded to you with your water and post-race refreshments.

Poland Spring® Brand 100% Natural Spring Water will be available at every other mile beginning at mile two, and G Series Pro Endurance Formula™ will be available at miles six, 9.5, and 10.5. PowerBar Gel® will be available near mile six. See the course map here.

Timing will stop six hours after the last person crosses the starting line in Hopkinton. We expect that to be at about 10:50 a.m., meaning official timing will end at 4:50 p.m. The course will close at various intervals before that time. The course will re-open on a rolling basis, based on a 6-hour running pace, starting at 10:50 a.m. in Hopkinton.

For your convenience, an ample number of port-a-johns will be placed on Franklin Park for use before and after the race. Please use these facilities. Participants are requested to respect the surrounding private and public property by using the port-o-johns provided. Also, port-o-johns will be placed near each fluid replacement station on the course (at every other mile, beginning at mile 2). See the course map here.

Yes, the event will engage the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USASA), in accordance with the international Standards of Doping Control, to test selected athletes who earn prize money. Athletes who participate in the B.A.A. Half Marathon may be subject to drug testing in accordance with the USADA Protocol for Olympic Movement Testing (USADA Protocol). USADA will be responsible for conducting comprehensive drug testing, as well as the adjudication of positive findings. Athletes with positive drug test results will have their cases adjudicated according to the USADA Protocol and will be penalized, if appropriate, according to applicable IAAF or World Anti Doping Agency rules. Such penalties may include, but not be limited to, a period of ineligibility from competition, as well as disqualification from past competitions and cancellation of awards and prizes previously awarded. Any substance taken by an athlete is at his/her own risk and may result in a positive sample. BEWARE: some nutritional supplements, prescription, cold medicines and over-the-counter medications contain prohibited substances. Information regarding specific drugs and substances may be obtained by calling the USADA Drug Reference Line at 1-800-233-0393, or by visiting www.usantidoping.org or www.888athlete.org.

Free shuttle services, the MBTA, and our drop-off/pick-up location are your best bet. They're all outlined here.

There will be no parking at the event location. Parking in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood is extremely limited, but some spots along the street may be available.

 

The 13.1-mile, rolling course combines both a looped and out-and-back route, beginning and ending near White Stadium (also known as Schoolboy Stadium) in Boston's Franklin Park. Past participants in the B.A.A. Half Marathon should note this important change. Essentially, the course has been flipped from past years. From Franklin Park, the race heads North to the Forest Hills Overpass and the Arborway, running adjacent to the Arnold Arboretum. The course turns right at Pond Street and continues North-bound onto the Jamaicaway (which becomes the Riverway), along Jamaica Pond and the other ponds and waterways that comprise Boston's Emerald Necklace. As the Riverway intersects with the Fenway, the race reverses direction with two left turns that sends runners South-bound on the Riverway.

After crossing over Huntington Avenue via overpass, there's a sharp right turn onto River Road in Brookline, followed by a sharp left turn onto Pond Ave. As the course hugs the western border of the Emerald Necklace, it turns left on Francis Parkman Drive, and then turns right on the Arborway and heads back adjacent to the Arboretum, over the Forest Hills Overpass, and into Franklin Park on Franklin Park Drive. In Franklin Park, the race turns right on Circuit Drive/N Jewish War Veterans Drive, and continues in a southward direction into the park for about a mile, before a hairpin turn reverses the course back on the same road.

The course passes the entrance/exit to the park on the left, and continues northward on Circuit Drive/N Jewish War Veterans Drive towards the Franklin Park Zoo. After a right turn on Pierpont Road, the race enters the Zoo for a quick counter-clockwise loop, and exits with a right turn onto Pierpont. Just before Pierpont intersects with Seaver Street, the course cuts across the park in a Western direction and turns right onto Playstead Road, before a finish near White Stadium. Please note that the course will remain open for two hours, 30 minutes after the start. Participants unable to complete the race within that time period will be asked to finish the race on the sidewalk. Timing will conclude 2:30:00 after the start. Go to map of the course.

The ONLY guaranteed way to get to the start on race morning is by the official B.A.A. buses between 6:00 and 7:30 a.m. Bus loading will take place at the Tremont Street side of the Boston Common in Boston’s Back Bay area. In order to load all the buses efficiently, avoid delays and get to the start on time, we strongly recommend the following bus loading schedule:

NOTE: Transportation to the start is for official runners only. Each runner must show his/her bib number upon boarding. We are not able to provide transportation to the start from Boston for family or friends. Limited transportation from Boston to Hopkinton to both parking areas will be available after the race at no charge. Buses leave from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. from the corner of Stuart and Berkeley Streets. You must show your race number upon boarding. Wheelchair participants will receive transportation information with their Number Pick-up Card.

6:00 a.m.–6:45 a.m.	Bib #’s 1,000–13,999
6:45 a.m.–7:30 a.m.	Bib #’s 14,000+

For qualifying information on the Boston Marathon, please visit our Qualifying section.

Please go to the Persons with Disabilities section of this website.