Thomas VanSlembrouck, of Grand Rapids, Mich., has been to the Boston Marathon before, cheering on many of his family members who have competed in the world’s oldest marathon.
Monday morning, VanSlembrouck will put his running gear on and take off from Hopkinton, running his first Boston. A fieldof 30,238 participants from all 50 U.S. states and 106 countries will be joining him along the 26.2-mile route to Copley Square.
“It’s the most iconic marathon,” VanSlembrouck said Sunday, taking in the sights of the finish line with his girlfriend, Emily Gordo. “You get the top percentage of whatever runners in the world come together. Now, I’m here, ready for the big dance.”
Michelle Brooks Thompson, a national award-winning independent recording artist and finalist on The Voice, will sing the national anthem while two F-15s fly over Hopkinton en route to Boston.
The professional men’s field will set off at 9:37 a.m., 10 minutes before the professional women. The 127th running will feature the fastest field in marathon history, including 12 previous Boston champions.
The race also will feature the first non-binary category.
Former Bruins captain Zdeno Chara, wearing bib 3333 in honor of wearing 33 for the black and gold, and former Red Sox players Brock Holt and Ryan Dempster are also among notable celebrities running.
More than $40 million has been raised so far through charity partners fielding teams, bringing the cumulative total to over $500 million since the marathon’s charity program launched in 1989.
The Boston Athletic Association, race organizer, did not award a bib 2013 this year in recognition of the bombings at the 2013 marathon.
VanSlembrouck and his girlfriend attended the remembrance event held Saturday for those killed during and in the aftermath of the bombings. At the time, VanSlembrouck said he had been competing in a high school track meet that shut down as soon as the news made it to Michigan.
“It just seems like there’s been so much, I don’t want to say good, that’s come from it,” he said. “There’s just so much more strength.”
