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HOPKINTON – At the beginning of the Boston Marathon near Hopkinton Green, faces wet with sweat were relieved by a cool morning rain. Some runners danced around puddles, others went through. For some participants in the Boston Marathon, however, going through the course in the midst of what some perceived as gloomy weather added to the feeling.
After all, it's Boston, the most iconic race and course in the world. Before the race, in the athletes' village, the excitement was far from being feigned.
"I call it a bright sun because I come from Sunshine State," said Amy Veniard, a 46-year-old elementary school teacher in Jacksonville Beach, Florida, who finished in 4 hours, 10 minutes , 36 seconds. "I'm good with [the weather] . . . I am just happy to be here. "
Dan Newman, of England, was running his first Boston marathon as a representative of the Encephalitis Society. Aged 32, he took on the challenge of a rainy road that he ended in 3:05:50.
"That's what we do – we run," said Newman. "It does not rain, we do not train."
Nathan Klima for The Globe
The runners went to one of the athletes' village tents to escape the rain before the start of the race.
Participants at the 123rd edition of the race received a warm welcome similar to that of last year, with thunderstorms that rose early in the morning and are preparing from the starting point on East Main Street.
"It does not really bother me because it's a little warmer than I like," said Nick Marraro, 24, of Toms River, N.J., before running a 2:47:44 run. "It'll calm us down a bit. I do not think the rain is holding us back. "
About two hours before the scheduled start of the wheelchair races, Wave 1 racers fled to Hopkinton colleges and high schools, while Wave 2, 3 and 4 racers waited in buses near the Boston Common. to avoid showers. For runners, a battle with elements is luck or the absence of draw.
"I'm used to it," said Robert Blaszak, 36, of Grand Rapids, Mich., Who led the course in 3:25:29. "I had a driving rain five of my last six marathons. You have just passed through. "
The race of last year was marked by temperatures in the 40s and a deluge. It was about 15 degrees warmer at the start of this year's race, but the athletes' village was flooded. Just before 9 o'clock, however, the rain subsided and gave way to a small drizzle.
Anticipating the weather, officials at the Boston Athletic Association have shifted the start time initially planned for wave 4 to reduce waiting times.
The BAA has also added tent walls and additional heat to the assembly areas and additional medical posts along the route to combat adverse weather conditions.
The riders nevertheless accepted the rain and were grateful for the tailwind that helped the start of the race, protecting their face from the rain.
Keith Bedford / Globe Staff
Runners cross the rain in the athletes' village before the Boston Marathon.
"The fact that it's cooler here makes all the difference," said Dave Masterson, 54, of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., Who completed his fourth Boston marathon in 3:06:24.
"Many people in the two tents I visited at the athletes' village expressed dismay at the weather, but the overall feeling was similar," Masterson said. "The idea was that all runners had to endure that, [and] "Just come through."
While the cloud cover passed the sun just after the start of the elite women's race and before the men's elite peloton was launched, cloudier and cooler conditions prevailed at waves 3 and 4.
However, this did little to alleviate the palpable anticipation that had prevailed since the beginning of Hopkinton Green's eastbound crossing at Boylston Street in Boston.
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