Boston Marathon's Record Field Split Into Three Waves Of Runners

The 115th Boston Marathon will be run today, and new to the race this year is the addition of a third wave of competitors. Each wave will consist of about 9,000 runners. The first wave, "including the elite men," will start at 10:00am ET, with the second wave at 10:20am and the third at 10:40am (ESPNBOSTON.com, 4/17). The '11 field reached its maximum capacity of 26,800 entries "faster than any previous year," filling up in 8 hours, 3 minutes on Oct. 18 (WASHINGTON TIMES, 4/18).

Several marketing experts said that for the race to "kick it up to the next level," a U.S. runner "needs to break the tape and don the laurel wreath in Copley Square" (BOSTON HERALD, 4/16).