The third Monday in April is Patriots’ Day in Massachusetts, commemorating the battles of Concord and Lexington and the start of the Revolutionary War.  But today is better known as Marathon Monday aka the day of the Boston Marathon, which is the world’s oldest annual marathon.  The starting line isn’t terribly far from where we live, so I went there on Sunday to check out the scene and get a few pictures.

See, here’s the starting line!  The odd thing is, the words seem like they’re painted wrong, because when runners cross the line, the words are upside down! (The runners would be going from right to left in this picture.)

Click on this picture to read about why there is a statue of this finely attired gentlemen.

About 200 yds behind that statue and the starting line, at the far end of the town common, is this lovely sight.  There are more than 20,000 registered runners, somehow I doubt this will be enough porta-potties.  I wouldn’t want to live across the street from the town common on this day!

If you catch any coverage of the race on TV and see some aerial images of the starting line area, I suspect this is the platform those shots are coming from.  The starting line is just up the hill and out of the field of view of this picture.

Patriots’ Day is a state holiday, so Veronica and the kids will be home.  However, I will be working, but that will put me in good position to see the race.  My office is relatively close to the race course, so I hope to take some time in the afternoon and watch the race and hope to have pictures to share on Tuesday.