BOSTON -- Marathon Monday is here, and we are just a short time out from the 128th running of the Boston Marathon. 

We will have live coverage of the race from media headquarters here at the Fairmont Copley Plaza, and then we'll bring you post-race interviews, analysis and more in the hours after the race. So stay locked on FloTrack.

How is today stacking up? 

Here's how the schedule rolls out this morning in Boston: 

• Men's Wheelchair: 9:02 a.m. EST
• Women's Wheelchair: 9:05 a.m. EST
• Handcycles And Duos: 9:30 a.m. EST
• Men's Professional Field: 9:37 a.m. EST
• Women's Professional Field: 9:47 a.m. EST
• Para-Athletics Division: 9:50 a.m. EST
• Rolling Schedule/Wave Starts: Beginning at 10:00 a.m.

What's our plan here? 

We'll continually update this blog as the race unfolds and bring you news as we hear it here first. This morning, for instance, the local news featured none other than Rob Gronkowski, the multiple-time Super Bowl winning tight end, formerly of the New England Patriots. He's retired now, but he still loves Boston. And Boston loves Gronk!

Stay tuned for coverage throughout the day. 

Who's A Threat To Win? 

THE BOSTON MARATHON CONTENDERS

On the women's side, defending champion Hellen Obiri will be on the line. The Kenyan is coming off a runner-up finish in the Aramco Houston Half Marathon in January in 1:06:07, but she's otherwise in "heat check mode" here, as she's coming off wins in Boston and New York in 2023. We'll see just what she can offer. 

Ethiopians Tadu Teshome (2:17:36, Valencia, 2022), Hiwot Gebremaryam (2:17:59, Valencia, 2023), Meseret Belete. (2:18.21, Amsterdam, 2023) and Tiruye Mesfin (2:18:47, Valencia, 2022) enter with four of the top five times in the field; Kenyans Judith Korir (2:18:20, Eugene, 2022) and Edna Kiplagat (2:19:50, London, 2012) are also among the contenders. 

The top Americans to keep an eye out for are Emma Bates, who finished fifth in the last installment here in 2:22:10; Desiree Linden, running in her 11th Boston Marathon and the 2018 winner; Sara Hall, who was fifth at the U.S. Olympic Trials with a time of 2:26:06; and Caroline Rotich, who was sixth behind Hall at the Trials.

2023 Valencia Marathon winner Sisay Lemma of Ethiopia enters with the top marathon seed of 2:01:48, but he's struggled here in recent years, recording a did-not-finish in 2022 -- along with another DNF in 2017 and a 30th-place nod in 2017. LetsRun reported this week that Lemma's coach, Gemedu Dedefo entered Lemma in Boston as part of a strategy to highlight the strengths of two of his athletes, Lemma and Tamirat Tolat, who are trying to get selected by the Ethiopian delegation. 

Evans Chebet, the defending champion from Kenya who ran 2:05:54 last year on this course, is back. 

The top American men to factor into this race? There's Sam Chelanga, who ran 2:08.50 in Chicago in November, finishing ninth there; Matt McDonald, the 30-year-old who was 10th here last year and 13th in Chicago -- though he struggled at the U.S. Trials in February, finishing in 64th. McDonald owns a 2:09:49 from Chicago in 2022. Brooks athlete CJ Albertson is entered in his fourth straight Boston Marathon and is coming off a PR and fifth-place finish at the U.S. Trials in 2:10:07. 

THE WHEELCHAIR START

The professional men's wheelchair and women's wheelchair divisions are off and on the course, which began in Hopkinton and makes it way into Boston. The first mile was covered by the men in 2:05, while the women followed in 2:29. Marcel Hug, 38, the Paralympic athlete from Sweden who has won six times, is the favorite here. 

9:23 a.m.: We're now at mile eight of the men's wheelchair race and we're on course record pace. Estimated finish time for the men is 1:08.10. Marcel Hug, the multiple-time champion, is out in front.

The commentator: "You've heard the era of Super Shoes? Well, we're entering an era of the super chair." 

9:25 a.m.: The women wheelchair races are six miles through the race -- last mile: 3:21 -- and are on pace for a 1:19:07 finish. 

9:34 a.m.: We are just a few minutes out from the elite men's start in Hopkinton, aka, 'The Walk-Up' to the start line. Just who will win? This should be fun! 

THE MEN'S MARATHON START

9:37 a.m.: We are now underway in the men's professional wave. The first mile is usually a feeling out process, so we're not expecting any crazy moves from the start. But in 2021, CJ Albertson took the lead and had it for 20 miles before the pack finally caught up. 

9:39 a.m.: Nevermind. It looks like Yuma Morii is making his best impression of Albertson. The Japanese marathoner has decided to gap the field in the first mile. His first mile was 4:32. 

9:41 a.m.: The men's wheelchair division is showcasing some cut-down miles over 12, 13 and 14 with mile splits of 2:43, 2:53 and 2:50. We were 35:38 through 13 miles of action.

9:43 a.m. Right now, there's Morii, the chase pack and then a secondary pack. We can make out CJ Albertson in that secondary pack, wearing the orange singlet of Brooks. Right now, there's a lot of race left. But things can change in a hurry. How about a weather update? The race began at 62 degrees and sunny. 

9:45 a.m.: That was fast. The chase pack caught up to Morii just over two miles into the race. The second mile split: 4:48, with a total elapsed time of 9:18. 

THE WOMEN'S MARATHON START 

9:47 a.m.: The elite women's wave has begun. Hellen Obiri might be the favorite here, but American Emma Bates, of Asics, has shot out to the lead in the first mile.

9:50 a.m.: Eden Rainbow Cooper leads the women's wheelchair division through the halfway point. She crossed the 13 mile marker in 44:01.

9:52 a.m.: Sisay Lemma is not playing around. One of Boston's favorites has taken over the lead pack and hit the 5K marker at 14:21. He's tracked by Zouhair Talbi and Evans Chebet, who might be his stiffest challenger.

9:54 a.m.: A catastrophe in the men's wheelchair division. Marcel Hug, the leader by four minutes, flew hard into a wide turn and toppled into a barricade, losing control. That will set him back from potentially earning a course record. 

9:56 a.m.: In the women's race, we hit the first mile in 5:17, with Emma Bates out front. It's a tight group, with a approximately 20 women in there, including American Sara Hall, who was fifth at the U.S. Trials in February. 

9:58 a.m.: Lemma has broken away just 20 minutes into the marathon. The Valencia winner has maybe a second or two on the next-closest runner.

10:03 a.m.: Three miles into the women's race, we hit the 3-mile point at 16:03. The field remains packed together, with no woman eyeing up a surge just yet. Our first 5K split is in, and here are the top three women. The first 21 women were separated by just a second.

• Sharon Lokedi, 16:36
• Meseret Belete, 16:36
• Hellen Obiri, 16:36

10:06 a.m.: Sisay Lemma put one DOWN. He cruised into the 10K split in 28:28. That was a full 25 seconds ahead of Evans Chebet, who crossed the marker in 28:53. So much race is left, but Lemma's strategy right now is to move away from the field. His estimated finish is 2:00.06. That's a bold move, especially from someone who has not raced at Boston well over his history, but it's a beautiful day and maybe Lemma is just feeling it. 

10:09 a.m.: Update on the wheelchair divisions. Marcel Hug's lead diminished slightly, but he recovered from his fall and is still well ahead of second-place Daniel Romanchuk, by four-plus minutes. Hug is now 23 miles through Boston in 1:06:43. Meanhile, Eden Rainbow Cooper has a 46-second lead on Manuela Schar through 25K in 53:33.

MAKING MOVES

10:20 a.m.: Marcel Hug finishes things off, claiming the men's wheelchair division in 1:15:33, which was a new course record. That gave him a smooth $50K in prize money and he broke his previous record of 1:17:06 in the process. And the race wasn't perfect! American Daniel Romanchuk was second in 1:20:37. It's Hug's seventh consecutive Boston victory and 11th World major win. 

10:23 a.m.: Our guy Sisay Lemma is now 81 seconds ahead of second-place Zouhair Talbia and that Boston Marathon chase pack over the first 15K of the race. His expected finish time is an astounding 2:00:09. Can he hold on for record pace? The odds seem to be against him, but at this rate, he's racing to win. It will hard at this point to make up 81 seconds. 

"This has never been done in a race," the commentator said. "And he's well ahead on this course." 

It's shocking, yes. The record for the men's race is 2:03:02 from 2011. 

10:27 a.m.: Back over to the women. Through 10K, Hellen Obiri and Co. are biding their time with the pace. A total of 20 women went through in 33:27-33:29, separated by just two seconds. The estimated finish time based on this early point is 2:21:05. The women's record time from Boston is 2:19:59 and that was secured in 2014.

"The pace is very honest," the Boston broadcaster said, and we do agree. 

10:32 a.m.: This is just insane. Lemma tell you what's happening right now. Sisay Lemma, the 2023 Valencia winner who has DNF'ed twice at Boston before -- in 2022 and 2017 -- is on pace for 2:00:42 after the 20K mark in 57:13. Things will likely change once Lemma gets through to Boston's tough hills of Newtown. But the Boston men's record seems assured to go down today.

10:36 a.m.: Besides Lemma, Evans Chebet has moved up to second as a group of five men have packed together through 20K. Chebet crossed that split in 58:52, while that group is all among four seconds from one another. 

10:40 a.m.: We have hit the 15K mark for the women. Twenty-one are still in it, all separated by a few seconds. Obiri is at the front, while Emma Bates and Sara Hall have positioned themselves well in that front pack. Sharon Lokedi, Tadu Teshome and Hiwot Gebremaryam, who were considered contenders entering Monday, are also in the mix. 

10:42 a.m.: Edin Rainbow Cooper pocketed the win in the women's wheelchair division, scoring a finishing time of 1:35:11, a full 90 seconds on second-place Manuela Schar, who crossed in 1:36:41. For Cooper, that was her first marathon major victory.

"That was such a challenge," Cooper said in her post-race interview during the broadcast. "This means absolutely everything. I can't believe it." "I just kept my head down and was pushing in my own race. I was in my own head." 

10:44 a.m.: Back to the men. Getting a sense of the American contingent in Boston. CJ Albertson is positioned in 14th and is on pace for a career best time. Through 20K, he clocked a time of 1:00:31. Matthew McDonald was in 28th through 20K in 1:03:12. Albertson hit the half marathon point at 1:03:52. 

10:49 a.m.: Lemma is first to the 25K split at 1:11:44 and is right now on the course, among the lowest point, elevation wise, that the field will hit. But his test is coming soon on the Newton hills, so we will see how he reacts. His lead: He's 2:21 ahead of second-place Evans Chebet. 

TAKING ON THE NEWTON HILLS

10:55 a.m.: A word on the women. Nothing much has changed about those first 21 competitors. They are running together, just waiting for the right time to move. Out of the corner of our eyes, however, is Desiree Linden. The American has made up some ground in the meantime heading from 15K to 20K and she can see the pack. She was 41 seconds back from the 15K split. She may have made up that time over the last 5K.

10:56 a.m.: A fun development. Emma Bates, in the lead group of women and one of the U.S.'s favorites, is taking high fives from spectators. She's loving this. 

10:57 a.m.: We have gotten to the 20K mark in the women's race. Linden, as we suspected, is back in it. She's only nine seconds back from the leader, Hellen Obiri. 

11:01 a.m.: Sisay Lemma now only has about 36-38 minutes of running left now, so this is all fight from the Ethiopian, who today might be showcasing himself as one of the world's best marathoners. The 33-year-old is putting behind all of his past performances in Boston and surging ahead. He is closing in on the 30K split. 

11:03 a.m.: We have hit the half-way point for the women, through 13.1 miles. Emma Bates is the current leader at 1:12:33, but she is just a few seconds separated by the rest of her competitors, including Americans Sara Hall and Desiree Linden. 

11:06 a.m.: Desiree Linden is MOVING. She takes on the lead as the pack now might be feeling out her pace. Could this race start to go just after the halfway mark? 

11:09 a.m.: CJ Albertson and Elkanah Kibet are now the top Americans on the men's side, in 12th and 14th, respectively, after 30K. While Albertson. has slowed over the last 10K, he's still estimated for a sub-2:10 finish in 2:08.36 while Kibet is near at 2:09:16. We spoke with Albertson on Sunday and the Brooks athlete told us one of his secrets toward his race mentality: He doesn't get too high or low about any race. While this is his fourth Boston Marathon and he's fresh off a career marathon in February at the U.S. Trials, he didn't tell us that he was expecting another breakthrough. He says he enters races even-keeled.

11:13 a.m. Sisay Lemma has come back to earth, slightly. After 20 miles, his projected finish is 2:02:58. While that's not 2-flat, it still would be a new Boston record. He successfully conquered the Newton Hills and now can push toward the finish over the last 10K. 

11:17 a.m.: The women are starting to inject some pace, just slightly. Sara Hall, who was leading after 25K, has lost slight contact with the group. Emma Bates is holding on to the outside of the pack as it begins to turn up the force. 

WINNING TIME

11:21 a.m.: Sisay Lemma's strongest lead was 2:49 just past the 20 mile marker. Now he's at 35K and the lead is dwindling. Here is winning time for the Ethiopian, who passed the 35K split at 1:42:56. His estimated finish time is now going backward and he's not on record pace anymore. The real storyline will be just what the chase pack will do with less than 10K left. John Korir is still 2:14 back at the 35K marker. Evans Chebet, looking to win his third straight Boston race, is still in it, sidled next to Korir. 

11:24 a.m.: CJ Albertson is the top American through 35K. He's in 11th place and is on sub-2:10 pace with a little more than 20 minutes of running is left. 

11:28 a.m.: Emma Bates has reestablished contact with the women's front pack and now has decided to make a bold move! She's in the lead. 

11:30 a.m.: Sisay Lemma now has a little more than three miles to go and his lead is 1:44. Evans Chebet is the man targeting him in second, along with John Korir, but they are losing real estate and the race may be closer to being solidified by Lemma. Albertson, meanwhile, has moved up to 10th.

11:32 a.m.: Emma Bates opened up a three-second lead on the women's field over the last 5K and might be measuring what it will take to win this thing after finishing fifth last year. Bates opted out of the U.S. Olympic Trials in February due to injury. What a return this would be. 

11:36 a.m.: Sisay Lemma is closing in on the finish, and downtown Boston. At the 40K marker, he pocketed a mark of 1:58:51. He's just a few minutes away from securing one of the best performances of his career. 

11:39 a.m.: Sisay Lemma officially has one mile to as he hit the 25.2 mile split at 2:00:54. Evans Chebet, who was running alongside John Korir, has begun to break away from his competitor. 

11:40 a.m.: At 20 miles, things have not relinquished. A total of 15 women are STILL running side-by-side and within a second of one another. The field has caught Emma Bates' move, but the American clearly is still in the mix here. 

11:42 a.m. It's Lemma's time, and we're all just living in it. It's closing time for the Ethiopian in the closing strides here at Boston. 

11:43 a.m.: WINNING TIME. Sisay Lemma officially wins the Boston Marathon in a time of 2:06:17, earning the 10th-fastest time in race history. Mohamed Esa came from nowhere, moving up from fourth to second over the last mile to finish second in 2:06:58. Evans Chebet follows on the podium in third in 2:07:40. 

THE TOP FIVE MEN'S FINISHERS

• Sisay Lemma, 2:06:17
• Mohamed Esa, 2:06:58
• Evans Chebet, 2:07:40
• John Korir, 2:07:40
• Albert Korir, 2:7:47

THE TOP AMERICAN MEN'S FINISHERS

• 7. CJ Albertson, 2:09:53
• 14. Elkanah Kibet, 2:12:32

11:47 a.m.: We have an interview with Lemma post-race, via the broadcast. 

"Confidence when we started," he said.

11:48 a.m.: And CJ Albertson does it again! The American moved up to seventh overall with a new career best of 2:09:53. At the half marathon mark, he was in 14th.

11:50 a.m.: Back to the women. At 35K, Hellen Obiri and 11 others are now moving like a swift conveyor belt. They've lost Americans Emma Bates and Sara Hall, who have slipped to 15th and 16th. Desiree Linden is in 18th. 

11:56 a.m.: It's official. We're finally seeing a break away in the women's race. Three women have started to hammer down the final Ks here in Bosotn, with Hellen Obiri, Edna Kiplagat and Sharon Lokedi all in the picture. We suspected this would happen with the way the pace went out over the first 20 miles. 

11:57 a.m.: So who's had the best speed work? Obiri and Lokedi are squaring off, shoulder to shoulder, as they have entered downtown Boston and can feel the crowd around them. 

11:59 a.m.: At 23 miles, Emma Bates and Sara Hall are still 15th and 16th, though they are separated by over 40 seconds, while Linden has moved up to 17th. 

12:01 p.m.: We have our update at 24 miles. Hellen Obiri and Sharon Lokedi are having the time of their lives dueling each other in the sun in Boston. Who's going to win? This might come down to the line. Meanwhile, Emma Bates has moved up to 14th. 

12:05 p.m.: Hellen Obiri can see daylight. She's finally broken away from Lokedi, with less than a mile to go. Lokedi and Obiri went into the 25.2 split in 2:17:46.

12:07 p.m. Obiri absolutely rolling to the finish here. What a performance over the final 800 meters from her. All arms, all legs, right to the finish.

12:09 p.m.: Hellen Obiri, the 34-year-old Kenyan, won her second straight Boston Marathon title, this time on Monday in a time of 2:22:37, with Sharon Lokedi, 30, trying with her might to hold on, coming in second in 2:22:45. 

THE TOP FIVE WOMEN'S FINISHERS

• Hellen Obiri, 2:22:37
• Sharon Lokedi, 2:22:45
• Edna Kiplagat, 2:23:21
• Buze Diriba, 2:24:04
• Senbere Teferi, 2:24:04

THE TOP AMERICAN WOMEN'S FINISHERS

• 12. Emma Bates, 2:27:14
• 15. Sara Hall, 2:27:58
• 16. Desireee Linden, 2:28:27

12:13 p.m.: After a group of 15 women had run through 20 miles at a near identical split, the top 10 women to finish the marathon on Monday were separated by just under three minutes.

12:14 p.m.: Hellen Obiri's post-race interview on the broadcast.

"Woah, it was amazing," she said. "To defend a title, it's hard to think." 

Complete List Of Boston Marathon Runners

The full list of Boston Marathon runners can be found on the Boston Marathon website. 

How To Watch The Boston Marathon In The United States

The Boston Marathon is being broadcast on ESPN2 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. EST The race will also be available on ESPN+ in the United States. 

How To Stream The Boston Marathon In Australia

The Boston Marathon is streaming on FloTrack and the FloSports app in Australia. Coverage of the race, highlights and breaking news will be available on both platforms. Coverage in Australia begins at midnight on April 16. 

Boston Marathon 2024 Course

Here's the course for the Boston Marathon.

Boston Marathon Results

Results from the race can be found on the Boston Marathon website.

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