MARATHON WATCH: 118th Boston Marathon begins
The 118th Boston Marathon has begun. The first entrants crossed the starting line at 8:50 a.m. in the mobility impaired division. The wheelchair division starts at 9:17.
Then the handcycles begin at 9:22, and the elite women at 9:32.
The elite men and the first wave of amateur runners go at 10. There are four waves in total, the last starting at 11:25.
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CHANNEL GUIDE: National television coverage of the Boston Marathon will have an expanded reach but still won't be available to many viewers.
The race is broadcast on the Universal Sports network outside New England. It is offering a free preview to all customers of cable and satellite services that offer the channel, which is generally carried only on sports tiers. But nearly half the country's homes with televisions won't be able to watch the marathon because Universal Sports doesn't have deals with big providers such as Comcast and Cablevision.
Dean Walker, the network's senior vice president for production, said this month that Universal Sports, as a sports channel, would focus its coverage on the competition but celebrate the resilience of the city.
"This race will go on forever, and we want to show the entire nation that, despite what anybody tried to do, it is now stronger and more determined," he said.
— Rachel Cohen — https://twitter.com/rachelcohenap
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READY TO RUN: Thousands of runners are gathering at the starting line of the Boston Marathon in Hopkinton, one year after a pair of homemade pressure-cooker bombs killed three people and wounded more than 260 others.
State and local police officers were everywhere Monday morning, even on the rooftops of some buildings. But rather than a tense situation, everyone appeared relaxed. Some runners even thanked the police officers for making them feel safe.
Near the finish line, spontaneous applause and whoops broke out in the crowd as a group of Boston police officers walked down the center of Boylston Street.
About 36,000 runners have registered for the race — the second-largest field in its history, many of them coming to show support for the event and the city that was shocked by the attack on its signature sporting event.
