For many, the idea of running a marathon seems like a daunting, nearly impossible task, but maybe watching the Boston Marathon will convince you to take the first steps toward achieving the feat yourself (or convince you to never put yourself through something like that).
The Boston Marathon is one of the world's oldest annual marathons, with 2023 serving as the 127th running of the race. In addition, it is the 10th anniversary of the tragic bombing at the Boston Marathon in 2013. As always, the race takes place on Patriots Day in Boston, April 17.
Whether you want to cheer on someone in the race or just watch one of the premier athletic events of the year, here's everything you need to know about how to watch the Boston Marathon.
How to watch the Boston Marathon in the US
ESPN is handling the national broadcast of the Boston Marathon, planning a full morning of coverage around the event starting at 8:30 am ET and going through 1 pm ET. The race airs on the main ESPN network, as well as a Spanish-language broadcast on ESPN Deportes.
ESPN is a cable sports channel that is carried by nearly all traditional pay-TV providers, as well as most live TV streaming services, including DirecTV, FuboTV, Hulu with Live TV, Sling TV and YouTube TV.
However, the Boston area will not be getting the ESPN broadcast, as it instead has local stations showing the race. The local Boston ABC station, WCVB-TV, is airing the race for the city, with coverage starting at 4 am ET and going through 8 pm ET. The station's coverage will be simulcasted on WCVB sister stations in the region, including WMUR in Manchester, N.H., WMTM in Portland/Auburn, Maine, and WPTZ in Burlington, Vt./Plattsburgh, N.Y. All of these stations will provide the coverage on their digital platforms and mobile apps.
Outside of Boston, you can watch ESPN's coverage on digital and mobile platforms (ESPN.com, the ESPN app), if you are signed up for a TV service that carries ESPN. ESPN Plus, the sports channel's streaming service, is not covering the Boston Marathon.
How to watch the Boston Marathon in the UK
UK running fans can watch the Boston Marathon through Eurosport, which has a number of ways that you can tune into the channel. Eurosport can be added as a channel package with BT Sport, Discovery Plus, Prime Video, Sky TV's Sky Sports and Virgin Media.
The BT Sport packages that give you access to Eurosport (BT Big Sport and BT TV VIP) cost between £43 and £76.
You can see Sky's bundles here, but your cheapest option is getting Sky TV, Netflix, Sky Sports and a Sky Stream streaming dongle for £44 monthly, a contract which lasts 18 months.
It is available through Prime Video at £6.99 per month and is included as part of the £4.99 per month Discovery Plus subscription. Virgin Media customers have access to Eurosport at no extra cost.
How to watch the Boston Marathon from anywhere
The Boston Marathon website has provided international broadcasters for the entire world, which you can see here. But if you are want to watch a specific broadcast but are not able to access it from where you are, a virtual private network, or VPN, is a good solution.
A VPN lets you change your IP address, enabling you to watch shows or sporting events like the Super Bowl and all the other shows and events that matter to you from other locations. Our favorite is ExpressVPN, which is the No. 1-rated VPN in the world right now according to our sister site, TechRadar.
Boston Marathon schedule
Races officially get underway for the Boston Marathon at 9:02 am ET, but if you're looking to watch the professionals, the professional men’s field starts at 9:37 am ET and the professional women’s field then gets going at 9:47 am ET.
Here is the complete schedule:
- Military March, 6 am ET/3 am PT
- Men's Wheelchair, 9:02 am ET/6:02 am PT
- Women's Wheelchair, 9:05 am ET/6:05 am PT
- Handcycles & Duos, 9:30 am ET/6:30 am PT
- Professional Men, 9:37 am ET/6:37 am PT
- Professional Women, 9:47 am ET/6:47 am PT
- Para Athletics Divisions, 9:50 am ET/6:50 am PT
- Rolling Start Begins, 10 am ET/7 am PT
- Rolling Start Ends, 11:15 am ET/8:15 am PT
Boston Marathon FAQs
How many people are running the Boston Marathon?
The 2023 race field for the Boston Marathon includes 30,000 runners from 122 countries and all 50 US states.
What is the Boston Marathon record?
The current course record for men at the Boston Marathon is two hours three minutes and two seconds by Geoffrey Mutai in 2011. The course record for women at the Boston Marathon is two hours 19 minutes and 59 seconds by Buzunesh Deba in 2014.
