Boston Marathon Kicks Off With 36,000 Runners in the Field

The first wave of Boston Marathon competitors hit the pavement at 8:50 a.m. Monday, the first of 36,000 entrants hoping to endure the 26.1 miles from Hopkinton, Mass., to downtown Boston.

The 118th running of the venerable race comes a year after twin bombings at the finish line killed three people and wounding more that 260.