Wellesley readies for Boston Marathon

Established Wellesley residents know the drill by now on Boston Marathon day, from where to catch the best action depending on your appetite for crowds to how to avoid getting trapped on either side of Rte. 135 or 16 if you need to get somewhere else. But for those new to the area or who need a refresher, here’s a quick primer on the Boston Marathon through the roughly 4.25 miles in Wellesley, the fifth town along the course:

Road & other closings

The course along Rte. 135 and Rte. 16 will be off limits to non-official vehicles from 8:30am-3:30pm on April 17, per Wellesley Police and the Boston Athletic Association. Connecting roads, such as Pond Road, also get closed to vehicular traffic during the race. Temporary “No Parking” signs will also be posted. Check Wellesley Police Twitter for updates.

All Wellesley municipal buildings and offices will be closed. Closures include the Tolles Parsons Center and the Wellesley Free Libraries. The Recycling and Disposal Facility will also be closed.

Where to watch

It depends on what you’re looking for. Big crowds will gather around mile 12 at the Wellesley College entrance for the “scream tunnel” lined with students, many holding funny signs and some smooching runners (though the college fun police are reportedly suggesting students blow bubbles and share stickers instead). Wellesley Square is also packed on race day, with town hall and the library making nice backgrounds for your photos. Crowds are solid, but thinner along the rest of the Wellesley segment of the race. Watching from the 25K mark near the top of the hill across just before the Warren Center (Recreation building) can be exhilarating, especially when the wheelchair and hand cycle athletes fly downhill.

The wheelchair athletes start just after 9am and should be hitting Wellesley Square within an hour. The runners start shortly after 9:30am, so should be hitting Wellesley Square by around 10:30.

boston marathon 2022 wellesley

Wellesley runners

Roughly 50 Wellesley residents are listed as official entrants by the Boston Athletic Association. Best of luck to all!

John Agudelo, Lauren Alverson, Carrie Aronson, Alexander Baker, Jackie Barrett, Jill Brannelly, Catherine Bueker, Kathleen Burch, James Carroll, Adrienne Cohen, Bob Collins, Courtney Day, Michelle Day, Julia Dinovi, Tyler Dittrich, Christine Doherty, Trevor Donnelly, Richard Dravenstott, Grace Drury, Kerry Eagan, Colin Flynn, Brian Foley, Stephen Foraste, Rob Forker, Sarah Given, Logan Green, Kathryn Grissino, Sean Haggerty, Laura Hill, Ryan Hoff, Yimei Huang, Courtney Hyland, Pete Isberg, Bernard Jones, Philip Juliano, Vaani Kapoor, Timothy Kelly, Amanda Kelly Silberman, Griffin Knowlton, David Krupinski, Jenny Lee, Graham Masiiwa, Kate Maul, Lawrence Mcnally, Mary Miller, Maggie Monaghan, Julie Moore, Berj Najarian, Jeremy Naylor, Mj O’Donnell, Bradley Ritland, Samuel Sanchez, Vivek Shah, Michael Sharp, Starlee Sharp, Anthony Shields, Katherine Specht, Samuel Steere, Christine Youngren

Charity runners

We invited Wellesley residents and those participating in the race for Wellesley charities to share their info.

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Please share your best Boston Marathon photos from the Natick section of the course: natickreport@gmail.com