Boston Marathon announces changes to start times

February 9, 2020

Previously, the elite women got a head start on the elite men by about 28 minutes, which allowed for significant TV time devoted to the women’s race, before the men started. It also meant that the winner of the elite women’s race broke the tape ahead of the men’s winner. But in recent years, many of the elite women were being overtaken by the lead men. And in the race’s final miles, the vehicles surrounding the lead men—police and media in cars, trucks, and on motorcycles—had to dodge dozens of women who had fallen off the pace. making it unsafe. Read Runner’s World to find out what the changes are.