And they're off: Fastest Boston Marathon field ever has wind at its back as it starts the race

Military marchers and 50 wheelchair athletes were first over the starting line, with the men's and women's fields following. Sharon Lokedi, who shattered the women's course record last year, is back, and fellow Kenyan John Korir goes for another win in the men's race a year after posting the third-fastest time in Boston history.

On the 50th anniversary of the “Run for the Hoses,” when Jack Fultz won in temperatures approaching 100 degrees (38 degrees Celsius), cool weather greeted the runners in Hopkinton and was expected to reach into the 40s during the day.

Fultz, who was serving as grand marshal, said as he waited to board his ride that the weather was the “polar opposite” from the day of his 1976 win.

“I am just trying to soak it all in, to remember it all," he said. “There are almost are no words to fully describe the kind of experience. You have a dream of a lifetime and all of a sudden it comes true.”

A tailwind was expected to help the competitors as they make their way to Boston's Back Bay.

Runners may notice some changes this year, with the race turning to a crowd scientist for help in spreading things out a little so they don’t face bottlenecks on the narrow streets of the eight cities and towns along the course. At the start is a new statue of and by marathon pioneer Bobbi Gibb — the first statue on the course honoring a woman.

Race Director Dave McGillivray sent the group of about 50 members of the Massachusetts National Guard members off at 6 a.m. McGillivray said it's the coldest start he could remember in his nearly four decades working at the race.

Staff Sgt. Mackenzie Smith and Spec. Benjamin De Boer stepped back and forth to try to stay warm before they set off on the course, but the cold didn't dampen their enthusiasm for participating in the Boston Marathon for the first time.

“It's an honor and a blessing to be standing at the Boston Marathon start,” Smith said. “The history that goes with the marathon resonates with me, growing up in Massachusetts.”

McGillivray said the cold added another layer of complexity because runners were arriving in Hopkinton with many layers of extra clothing that would be discarded at the start line and need to be collected. But as the sun comes out, he said it will be ideal for running.

Associated Press Writer Jennifer McDermott in Hopkinton, Mass., contributed to this report.

AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports