The Latest: Wheelchair race is off at wet Boston Marathon

BOSTON (AP) — The Latest on the Boston Marathon (all times local):

9:02 a.m.

The wheelchair race is off at the Boston Marathon.

First the men, then the women left Hopkinton on their way to Boston’s Back Bay, 26.2 miles away. Heavy rain and thunderstorms overnight had settled down, but it was still expected to be a wet and windy day.

More than 30,000 runners were expected to make their way along the course in the 123rd edition of the race. Among them is Des Linden, who last year became the first American woman to win the race since 1985. Yuki Kawauchi is the men’s defending champion.

This year’s event falls on the sixth anniversary of the 2013 bombing that killed three people and maimed hundreds more. Boston officials were planning a moment of silence at 2:49 p.m., the time of the first explosion.

___

7:20 a.m.

Runners are trying to stay dry as they await the start of the 2019 Boston Marathon.

The 123nd running of the world’s oldest and most prestigious annual marathon got a wet start. But it’s not as cold as expected, with temperatures in the 60s as runners arrived instead of the 30s that were initially forecast.

Monday is the sixth anniversary of the deadly Boston Marathon bombings. It’s the first time the anniversary date falls on the same day as the marathon.

Runners are gathering underneath large tents set up outside of a high school in Hopkinton, Massachusetts.

Defending champions Des Linden and Yuki Kawauchi have said they’re not bothered by the forecast for a rainy, windy day because they won last year in similar conditions. They lead a field of about 30,000 runners on the 26.2-mile (42-kilometer) trek from Hopkinton to Copley Square.

The mobility impaired division is scheduled to begin at 9:02 a.m.

___

More AP sports: https://apnews.com/apf-sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports