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The Red Sox’ playoff chances got a big lift last night. MassLive has more here on the state of the tight American League playoff race, with just five games left in the regular season — including a critical series this weekend at Fenway Park.
But first, the news:
Picking up the pace: More than 24,000 people are getting happy news this week: they officially qualified for the 2026 Boston Marathon. The Boston Athletic Association announced yesterday that a total of 24,362 qualified applicants are being accepted to the 130th edition of the race next year. That’s no easy feat. Next year’s Boston Marathon is the first held under newly lowered qualifying times that require applicants to run faster than ever. And even then, they needed to be 4 minutes and 34 seconds faster than the caps of their age groups to make the cut. As a result, nearly 9,000 of the total 33,249 applicants are getting rejection notices. BAA President Jack Fleming said the high applicant numbers are partly because marathoning’s global popularity is perhaps at an all-time high. “ Being able to run the world’s oldest annual marathon — and next year will be this event’s 130th — that’s something that everyone wants to participate in,” Fleming told WBUR’s Dan Guzman. Here are a few more notable numbers about this year’s field.
- 6 minutes and 30 seconds: That’s the mile pace runners in the most competitive age group (men ages 18 to 34) needed to run their qualifying marathon in order to meet their 2 hours 55 minute qualifying time, with the additional cut-off.
- 10,710: Accepted athletes running their first Boston Marathon.
- 1,373: Massachusetts residents accepted into next year’s race.
- 195: Para-athletes who met their respective qualifying standards.
- 120: Countries that will be represented in next year’s race.
- 110: Non-binary athletes that have been accepted for next year’s race so far — the most since the division was created in 2023.
- 83: The age of the oldest accepted qualified runner.
- FYI: The BAA also reserves around 6,000 bibs for runners who don’t qualify, but fundraise for a charity. Here’s a guide on where to start if you’re interested. (Most charity team applications should be opening up soon.)
Plot twist: The Irish company that landed a massive contract to operate and redevelop 18 highway rest stops in Massachusetts is immediately pulling out of the offer. In a statement yesterday evening, Applegreen said it’s ending talks with MassDOT about the “definitive terms” of the offer after only three months because of what it called “commercial realities” and the costs of the threat of litigation from an opposing bidder. (That opposing bidder is Waltham-based Global Partners, which put up quite a fight after its bid was passed over and eventually sued MassDOT.)
- immediately what? Massachusetts Transportation Secretary Monica Tibbits-Nutt said the state is focused on moving forward with the project “as quickly as possible” with another partner. Does that mean Global Partners? In a statement, the company’s CEO Eric Slifka said they are “prepared to step in.”
Moulton mulls: Could Rep. Seth Moulton actually run against Sen. Ed Markey in 2026? The Boston Globe reported yesterday the Salem Democrat is seriously thinking about it. The news comes after fellow Rep. Jake Auchincloss recently ruled out a primary challenge against the 79-year-old Markey, who fended off former Rep. Joe Kennedy III in 2020. Politico also reported that Moulton was recently spotted with a film crew in Salem. (Remember the last time that happened?)
- In his own words: “While I continue to look at the best options to represent Massachusetts moving forward, I have not yet made a decision about running for U.S. Senate,” Moulton told WBUR in a statement.
Talk about a glow up: In what used to be a literal dump, Lynn is celebrating the Boston area’s newest public waterfront park. The 30-acre Lynn Harbor Park features nearly two miles of walking paths, a basketball court, pickleball courts, and an outdoor amphitheater and sweeping ocean views. (Check out the map here.)
- What’s next: Lynn Mayor Jared Nicholson says the multi-million-dollar project is a key part of a larger effort to reconnect the city to its waterfront. “It’s also an economic development catalyst, and we’ve started to see more investment happening around the park,” Nicholson told WBUR’s Stevee Chapman. (Speaking of which, a 500-unit apartment development on the south end of the park will have its own ribbon cutting Thursday.)
P.S.— The third annual CineFest Latino Boston kicks off today. The film festival celebrating Latino culture includes screenings of about 30 documentaries, feature films and shorts at venues around the city. Learn more about the festival and what else is happening around Boston in our arts team’s weekend events roundup.
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