Boston Marathon 2026 forecast predicts cold weather

Last year, Kenyon runners John Korir and Sharon Lokedi each basked under sunny, comfortable conditions at the finish line on Boylston Street after winning the 129th running of the Boston Marathon.

Now the question remains, will this year's runners of the world's oldest marathon race be blessed with similar weather conditions?

The 130th running of the Boston Marathon, established in 1897, is set to take place on Marathon Monday/Patriots Day, April 20. More than 30,000 athletes begin at Hopkinton and end with a sprint on Boylston Street.

Temperatures that day in 2025 ranged from the upper 40s at the start of the race and capped off near 60 in the early afternoon hours.

Apr 21, 2025; Newton, MA, Kenyan John Korir in the lead as he runs up Heartbreak Hill during the 129th running of the Boston Marathon at Heartbreak Hill in Newton, April 21, 2025.. Mandatory Credit: Greg Derr-USA Today Network

Korir, who captured first in the Chicago marathon six months earlier, won his first Boston Marathon in the men's division despite taking a spill in the first steps of the race in Hopkinton. He joined his brother older brother, Wesley, who won in Boston himself in 2012.

Lokedi smashed the Boston Marathon course record by more than two minutes, outlasting two-time defending champion Hellen Obiri, to whom she lost a year before in one of the closest finishes in race history.

In the wheelchair division, Switzerland's Marcel Hug won his eighth marathon and fifth straight in the men's race. Susannah Scaroni of the United States claimed the women’s title.

Who will step up this year? We will find out soon enough.

Apr 21, 2025; Newton, MA, winner Sharon Lokedi of Kenya during the 129th running of the Boston Marathon at Heartbreak Hill in Newton, April 21, 2025.. Mandatory Credit: Greg Derr-USA Today Network

2026 Boston Marathon weather forecast

After a surge of unseasonably warm weather this week, forecasters are predicting much colder weather for runners.

According to the Accuweather, temperatures are expecting to plummet to the mid-40s with a feel-like temperature of 37 and winds around 12 miles an hour.

The mercury at the start of the race in Hopkinton should be in the upper 20s to mid 30s. It's possible Monday's high temperature could set a new record for temps recording in Boston for the marathon. In 2009, temps reached just 48 degrees.

Unusual weather at Boston Marathon

From snowflake to mid-summer heat, the Boston marathon has seen its share of weather phenomenal. Five times — 1907, 1908, 1925, 1961 and 1967 — snowflakes sprinkled down on runners. Wind swept rains also soaked runners in 1970, 2007, 2015 and 2018.

According to forecasters from the WCVB 5 Boston StormTeam, runners began the 1939 race in the darkness due to a storm and a partial solar eclipse. In 2010, a volcanic eruption in Iceland disrupted travel and cause many runners to miss the marathon.

Hottest Boston Marathon races

Extreme hot temperatures came into play during the 1907 marathon (100 degrees), the 1976 marathon (96 degrees) and the 2004 and 2012 marathons, where temps reached as high as 87 degrees.

In 1927, the mercury rose to 94 degrees, which freshly paved roads along the way melted under the runners' feet.

This year marks the 13th anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombings in 2013, which killed six people and injured 280 people. Boston Strong became the rallying call for the Boston Red Sox that year.

Onlookers, don't put away those winter gears just yet. Cold or not, cheer those runners on.

Herald News and Taunton Gazette sports editor Steven Sanchez can be reached at ssanchez@heraldnews.com. You can follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @Chezsports and TikTok @ssanchezsports

This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Boston Marathon 2026 weather forecast and historical temps