The Boston Marathon is the oldest annual marathon in the world and is one of the world most renouned road race events. Begun in 1897, the Boston Marathon takes place on Patriots Day each year, a Massachusetts holiday. Atttracting more than 20,000 runners each year from literally all corners of the globe, the marathon begins in the beautiful town of Hopkington, and winds its way through various suburbs (all covered in our SUBURB GUIDE by the way) and terminating in Coply Square downtown Boston.

Although Boston is famous for many things, no single event draws even close to the number of visitors to Boston each year. In addition to the runners, only a fraction of whom are local, some half a million spectators view the event at some point during the day. For one weekend, every hotel, Inn and B&D within 50 miles of the city is booked solid with runners, spectators and those involved in running the event.

The event is managed by the Boston Athletic Association and relies on thousands of volunteers to manage food, drink, safety and crowd control along the 26 mile course.