‘Opportunity of a lifetime’: Runners count down minutes until 128th Boston Marathon

BOSTON — Boston takes the world stage Monday for the 128th Boston Marathon.

Nearly 30,000 athletes are expected to race with more than a half-million spectators cheering them on.

Temperatures are expected to reach the high 60s which is considered to be uncomfortable for some runners on the 26.2 mile course.

However, it won’t be as warm as it was back in 2017 when temperatures reached the mid-70s.

You may also recall unseasonably warm conditions back in 2012.

That’s when temperatures reached 80 degrees, causing more than 4,000 runners to drop out of the race.

“I hate cold. I hate rain. I hate snow,” said runner Jennifer Donato. “For me, it’s perfect. I’m a runner that likes heat!”

Runners are counting down the minutes until their start times, and each have a different reason for running.

“I’m overwhelmed,” said Justin Herold. “It’s the opportunity of a lifetime.”

Herold is running for a co-worker’s child who received a terminal diagnosis of a very rare genetic disorder called Batten Disease.

“Just the fact that I get to run with her daughter’s name, it means so much to me,” he said.

Boston 25 News also spoke with a cancer survivor of 25 years who’s running for Dana Farber to help improve cancer research.

“Everyone can do it, any shape and size. If you want to do it, you should go out and do it,” said Elena Togashi.

Across all of the Boston Marathon’s competitive divisions, officials say the cumulative prize fund is more than $1.19 million dollars.

Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.

Police identify ‘armed, dangerous’ man wanted in ‘horrific’ killings of Mass. mom, infant son