The Boston Marathon Begins

Runners gathered from all over Monday for the start of the Boston Marathon. The second largest field in the history of the marathon will leave from the starting line in Hopkinton then run the 26.2 miles to the finish line in Copley Square.
In the field are last year's male winner, Robert Cheruiyot, last year's female winner Lidiya Grigoryeva and seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong.
South African Ernst Van Dyk, has already been named the winner of the men's wheelchair race, finishing the course in 1 hour, 26 minutes and 49 seconds. This is his seventh win.

The wheelchair race started the day off, with racers leaving at 9:26 a.m., followed by the elite women at 9:35 and the elite men with the main field at 10:00. Runners are competing for the largest purse in the race's history. Winners of the men's and women's elite will each receive $150,000. The overall purse of $796,000 is the largest of the World Marathon Majors events.