Held each year on Patriots Day, the Monday that commemorates a famous Revolutionary War Battle, the Boston Marathon starts in the town of Hopkinton and meanders along from town to town until it ends in downtown Boston. Much of the section in Newton, starting nearly 20 miles into the 26 mile race, is a series of uphill climbs, separated by short plateaus. The course goes up Commonwealth Avenue, one of the main roads that traverses the city. Thousands and thousands of people come out to line the streets and cheer the runners. Crossroads are blocked off.
People get together for parties to watch, vendors hawk their wares, etc.
There is even a children's race the day before the Marathon, a one-mile run up and down one section of the hill, that draws kids from as far away as Rhode Island and New Hampshire. This page is to give you a little bit of a feel for what it's like in Newton. Getting around town is tough on Marathon day, which was the 17th of April this year. Streets even blocks away from the route are closed for hours. City police close the streets You see people from all over walking to Comm Ave.