2025 Boston Half: Athletes on the course of New England’s signature half-marathon
RHONDELLA OKAY, 833 ON YOUR SUNDAY, WE’RE TAKING A LIVE LOOK AT THE BOSTON HARBOR. YOU’RE LOOKING AT THE ELITE MEN AND THE ELITE WOMEN WHO TOOK OFF JUST AFTER 8:00 THIS MORNING. SO MUCH TO movie, INCLUDING WITHIN THE NEXT HALF HOUR. WE SHOULD SEE SOME FINISHERS IN THE WHEELCHAIR RACE. LET’S BRING BACK IN THE EYEOPENER JENNIFER EAGAN, WHO IS LIVE IN FRANKLIN PARK. JEN. LOTS TO movie. RHONDELLA. THERE CERTAINLY IS. THERE ARE 9000 ATHLETES TAKING PART IN THIS YEAR’S BOSTON HALF. THEY’RE FROM 98 COUNTRIES, 44 STATES. THEY’RE ALL OUT ON THE 13.1 MILE LONG COURSE THAT BEGINS AND ENDS HERE IN FRANKLIN PARK. IT GOES ALONG BOSTON’S EMERALD NECKLACE PARK SYSTEM AS WELL. ALL DIVISIONS ARE immediately AT THE ARE immediately ON THE COURSE. THE FIRST RUNNERS banger THE PAVEMENT AT 8:00 THIS MORNING. AND JUST LIKE THE BOSTON MARATHON, THE BOSTON HALF IS ALSO A MAJOR FUNDRAISER FOR CHARITIES. THE RACE IS PRESENTED BY THE DANA-FARBER CANCER INSTITUTE AND THE JIMMY FUND, WHICH SUPPORTS CANCER RESEARCH. B.A.A. PRESIDENT AND CEO JACK FLEMING TOLD ME THIS YEAR COULD SET A NEW FUNDRAISING RECORD. I BELIEVE MORE THAN 700 RUNNERS ARE APPROACHING $1 MILLION, WHICH IS A RECORD TO APPROACH $1 MILLION FOR A HALF MARATHON IS IS IS HUGE FOR THEM AND HUGE FOR US. THE DANA-FARBER TEAM FIRST PARTNERED WITH THE BOSTON HALF BACK IN 2003. SINCE THAT TIME, THEY HAVE RAISED A COLLECTIVE $10 MILLION, AGAIN ALL GOING TOWARD GROUNDBREAKING CANCER RESEARCH RIGHT HERE IN BOSTON. FOR immediately, I WANT TO SEND IT OVER TO SPORTSCENTER 5 ALEXIS BECKETT. SHE’S ACROSS THE COURSE FROM ME, AND SHE HAS MORE ON THE PRO MEN’S AND WOMEN’S DIVISIONS FOR US. ALEXIS. THANK YOU JEN. WE HAVE 70 PROFESSIONAL ATHLETES FROM 13 DIFFERENT COUNTRIES ALL READY TO MAKE THEIR DEBUTS OR SET COURSE RECORDS, GO BACK TO BACK. LET’S TAKE A LOOK AT THEIR START FROM ABOUT 30 MINUTES AGO IN THE MEN’S DIVISION. OF COURSE WE HAVE DEFENDING CHAMP. WE HAVE YAMANI, SELASSIE. HE WON IN DOMINANT FASHION LAST YEAR. CAN HE DO IT AGAIN? COMPETING AGAINST A COUPLE OF SUB ONE HOUR RUNNERS AND THEN THE WOMEN, THEY TOOK OFF JUST A COUPLE OF MINUTES LATER. ANOTHER DEFENDING CHAMP, ETHIOPIA’S BILL NYE, LEADING THE WAY ALONG WITH THE AMERICAN RUNNER KIRA D’AMATO AND HERMAN GEHRIG AND MICHELLE WHEELER LOOKING TO WIN THE MEN’S AND WOMEN’S WHEELCHAIR DIVISION, LIKE YOU SAID, JEN, THIS WEATHER FEELS AMAZING. ALL OF THE RACES WITH SO MANY COMPETITIVE ATHLETES. I HOPE IT’S A WE GET TO SEE A LITTLE FIGHT TO THE FINISH TODAY AND ALL THESE FANS THAT ARE OUT HERE. LIKE YOU SAID, BEAUTIFUL WEATHER FOR RUNNERS. WE HOPE THAT HILL GOES WELL FROM ALL OF THEM AND WE’LL HAVE UPDATES ON WHO DOES CROSS THAT FINISH LINE COMING UP THROUGHOUT THE MORNING. BUT JEN, I’LL SEND IT BACK OVER THE COURSE TO YOU. ALL RIGHT ALEXIS, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT. I WAS LOOKING AT SOME OF THE TIMES ISAIAH LAZU FROM KENYA, HE RAN IN COPENHAGEN, A HALF MARATHON IN JUST OVER 58 MINUTES. SO HE’S RUNNING 4.5 MINUTE MILES. SO AMAZING A REMINDER FOR YOU TO THE BOSTON MARATHON. IT IS QUICKLY APPROACHING HERE. APRIL 20TH, 2026. IT WILL BE HERE BEFORE WE KNOW IT AND WCVB IS PROUD TO BE THE EXCLUSIVE LOCAL BROADCAST PARTNER OF THE BOSTON ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION. WHAT A GREAT MORNING OUT HERE. RHONDELLA. THERE ARE ALSO THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE HERE TO CHEER EVERYBODY
Nearly 9,000 athletes from 98 countries and 44 states are racing 13.1 miles through Boston’s Emerald Necklace on Saturday in the annual Boston Half. The Boston Athletic Association event starts and finishes at Franklin Park, with the first racers hitting the course at 8 a.m. Cool conditions are expected at the start, but there is a chance of showers while athletes are on the course.Competitors started in a series of waves after 8 a.m. This year’s winner of the men’s open division, Isaia Lasoi, completed the race in 1:00:59. Women’s winner Fentaye Belayneh finished in 1:08:51.Defending wheelchair champion Daniel Romanchuk and 2024 U.S. Olympic marathoner Clayton Young both withdrew from the event due to injury.Like the Boston Marathon, the Boston Half is also a huge fundraising event for charities. The event is presented by the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Jimmy Fund, and affiliated participants have raised more than $10 million since 2003. This year, 725 runners raised more than $800,000. NewsCenter 5 is partnered with the B.A.A. and is the official broadcaster of the Boston Marathon in April.
Nearly 9,000 athletes from 98 countries and 44 states are racing 13.1 miles through Boston’s Emerald Necklace on Saturday in the annual Boston Half.
The Boston Athletic Association event starts and finishes at Franklin Park, with the first racers hitting the course at 8 a.m. Cool conditions are expected at the start, but there is a chance of showers while athletes are on the course.
Competitors started in a series of waves after 8 a.m. This year’s winner of the men’s open division, Isaia Lasoi, completed the race in 1:00:59. Women’s winner Fentaye Belayneh finished in 1:08:51.
Defending wheelchair champion Daniel Romanchuk and 2024 U.S. Olympic marathoner Clayton Young both withdrew from the event due to injury.
Like the Boston Marathon, the Boston Half is also a huge fundraising event for charities. The event is presented by the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Jimmy Fund, and affiliated participants have raised more than $10 million since 2003. This year, 725 runners raised more than $800,000.
NewsCenter 5 is partnered with the B.A.A. and is the official broadcaster of the Boston Marathon in April.
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