Boston Marathon Route

From Hopkinton to Boston's Copley Square

Interested in watching Boston's famous Marathon? If so, you'll need details about the Boston Marathon route plus maps so that you can pick the best vantage spot for enjoying the race.

We'll give you the big picture, as well as a mile-by-mile description and a route map for the Boston Marathon. We'll also tell you about what the runners encounter along the way.

Boston Marathon runners on Commonwealth Avenue (Route 30) in Newton, Massachusetts

The Big Picture of the Boston Marathon Route

The Boston Marathon route covers 26 miles and 385 yards of sometimes hilly, sometimes flat terrain between Hopkinton, Massachusetts and Copley Square in Boston.

The race starts in Hopkinton, located to the west-south-west of Boston, on Route 135. It continues east on Route 135 through Ashland, Framingham, Natick, and Wellesley.

In Wellesley, Route 135 merges into Route 16. The race continues east on Route 16 into the Newton Lower Falls area of Newton, just to the east of Route 128, where it merges right at the firehouse onto Commonwealth Avenue, which is also Route 30.

The race continues on Comm Ave through the Newton Hills. At the Reservoir, it bears right at Chestnut Hill Ave to Cleveland Circle. At Beacon Street, the race turns left toward Kenmore Square, and then follows Comm Ave east toward the city.

At Hereford Street, the Boston Marathon route turns to the right (normally this is a one way street to the left), and then turns left onto Boylston Street.

The race finishes in Copley Square near the John Hancock Tower.

Mile by Mile - Where the Race is Run

Mile 0: Hopkinton
Elevation: 490 feet
The Boston Marathon route begins in Hopkinton Common, a grassy green space in this once-rural, now-suburban town. The race route's elevation is at its highest here - 490 feet. Almost immediately, the elevation drops as runners begin the first of several enjoyable downward miles winding through the countryside past open fields and widely-spaced suburban houses.

Mile 1: Hopkinton
Elevation: 360 feet
Pleasant and uneventful.

Mile 2: Ashland
Elevation: 320 feet
Pleasant and uneventful.

Mile 3: Ashland
Elevation: 265 feet
Pleasant and uneventful.

Mile 4: Ashland
Elevation: 180 feet
Runners encounter the first significant upward slope for half a mile as they approach Framingham.

Mile 5 - Framingham
Elevation: 205 feet
Runners leave country behind as they proceed along the Boston Marathon route through Framingham.

Mile 6 - Framingham
Elevation: 180 feet
Development becomes denser, with office buildings, factories, and stores lining the road around the intersection of Route 135 and Route 126.

Mile 7 - Framingham
Elevation: 155 feet
Hard to tell where Framingham ends and Natick begins.

Mile 8 - Natick
Elevation: 180 feet
Stores and more stores line the route.

Mile 9 - Natick
Elevation: 150 feet
And still more stores.

Mile 10 - Natick
Elevation: 170 feet
The road is flat through Natick, where the intersection of Routes 135 and 27 in Natick Center mark the first 10 miles.

Mile 11 - Natick
Elevation: 180 feet
Development thins out, as the runners approach more suburban Wellesley.

Mile 12 - Wellesley
Elevation: 165 feet
Just past the 12 mile mark, Wellesley students create the "Scream Tunnel," striving for an unbroken wall of sound as the runners stream past. Loud music adds to the effect. The course inclines rather sharply downhill.

Mile 13 - Wellesley
Elevation: 145 feet
Less than 200 yards into Mile 13 is the halfway mark. Runners turn left onto Route 16, and head through affluent streets lined with shops as the Boston Marathon route leads them east from Wellesley Center.

Mile 14 - Wellesley
Elevation: 130 feet
Runners pass the picturesque village houses on the outskirts of Wellesley.

Mile 15 - Wellesley Hills
Elevation: 160 feet
After crossing Route 9 comes the sharpest descent of the race in a half-mile stretch into Newton Lower Falls.

Mile 16 - Newton Lower Falls
Elevation: 60 feet
Past Route 128, the course rises for three quarters of a mile.

Mile 17 - Newton
Elevation: 115 feet
Runners turn right onto Commonwealth Avenue (Route 30). Newton's four difficult hills lie ahead.

Mile 18 - West Newton
Elevation: 145 feet
The first hill is a steep incline just past the Brae Burn Country Club.

Mile 19 - Newton
Elevation: 130 feet
Runners encounter Newton's second hill . . .

Mile 20 - Newton
Elevation: 150 feet
. . . and the third hill.

Mile 21 - Newton / Chestnut Hill
Elevation: 230 feet
Heartbreak Hill, Newton's fourth hill, comes just after the shops along Centre Street and is a half-mile rise to Hammond Street. If you look at it as an observer, you hardly even think about it being a hill. But to the runners, after 21 miles, it comes just as their stamina is at an ebb.

Mile 22 - Boston / Brighton
Elevation: 150 feet
Prudential Tower comes into view! Crowds line Cleveland Circle.

Mile 23 - Brookline
Elevation: 95 feet
Crowds grow thicker.

Mile 24 - Brookline
Elevation: 60 feet
Boston University students line the street, cheering almost as loudly as the Wellesley students.

Mile 25 - Boston / Back Bay
Elevation: 15 feet
Runners go through Kenmore Square, filled with huge crowds of Red Sox fans, fresh from a home game, cheering loudly.

Mile 26 - Boston / Back Bay
Elevation: 10 feet
Runners pass the big stores along Boylston Street.

Mile 26 + 385 yards - Copley Square
Elevation: 10 feet
Finished!

Insider tips

Crowds are biggest the closer you get to Copley Square
Do not drive into the city.
You can find additional tips about good viewing locations on the Boston Marathon page.