Marcel Hug of Switzerland won his ninth Boston Marathon wheelchair title on Monday, riding a tailwind to finish in an unofficial time of 1 hour, 16 minutes, 6 seconds. He missed breaking his own course record by 33 seconds.
Two-time winner Daniel Romanchuk of Champaign, Illinois, was second behind Hug for the fourth straight time.
In the women's wheelchair race, Eden Rainbow-Cooper won for the second time, finishing in an unofficial 1:30:51 to beat runner-up Catherine Debrunner of Switzerland by more than two minutes.
The fastest field in event history and ideal weather had runners expecting fast times in the 130th edition of the world's oldest and most prestigious annual marathon.
The athletes arrived in Hopkinton with frost on the ground and temperatures in the 30s. It had warmed to 45 degrees (7 degrees Celsius) by the the time defending champions Sharon Lokedi and John Korir started the race, followed by more than 30,000 others.
It was the coldest starting temperature since 2018, when it was 38 degrees and raining. Last year, the thermostat was at 58 when runners set off.
Military marchers and 50 wheelchair athletes were first over the starting line, with the men's and women's fields following. Lokedi, who shattered the women's course record last year, is back, and 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.
The men’s First and Second Round will be broadcast across CBS, TNT, TBS and TruTV and streams on HBO Max.
The women’s First and Second Round will be broadcast on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNews and streams on ESPN Unlimited.
NCAA March Madness is here! It’s been almost a year since the Florida Gators won the men’s basketball championship and the UConn Huskies earned the women’s title, and both teams have snagged top seeds at the 2026 NCAA tournament, too. The Gators find themselves sharing the No. 1 spot with Duke, Michigan and Arizona, while the women’s Huskies are joined by Texas, South Carolina and UCLA in the top four. At this stage of the tournament, all the top seeds are still in, although a few early upsets have seen teams like BYU and Wisconsin departing the men’s competition in the First Round.
By contrast, there haven’t been any major upsets in the women’s First Round, which continues through Saturday. The women’s Second Round begins Sunday. The women’s First and Second Rounds air on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPNews and stream on ESPN Unlimited. The men’s Second Round takes place Saturday and Sunday and games will be spread across CBS, TBS, TNT and TruTV and will stream on HBO Max or Paramount Plus.
Here’s a breakdown of every team that’s playing, how to watch and everything else you need to know.
When is March Madness 2026?
March Madness 2026 began Tuesday, March 17, with the men’s First Four games. The women’s First Four took place Wednesday, March 18, and Thursday, March 19. Games will run through the rest of March and into early April; the women’s championship final is scheduled for April 5, the men’s for April 6.
Watch March Madness without cable
Women’s March Madness games will air across ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPNews. Every First Four game of the women’s tournament will be broadcast on ESPN2 and ESPN Unlimited. Men’s March Madness games will be split among CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV. You can catch every men’s First Four game on TruTV via HBO Max.
ESPN
ESPN Unlimited is ESPN’s comprehensive, standalone streaming service. For $30 per month, you can watch every women’s March Madness game all in one place. Read our review of ESPN Unlimited.
Zooey Liao/CNET
With HBO Max, you can stream 46 games in the men’s March Madness tournament, including the Final Four and the Championship Final. And with HBO Max’s multiview experience, you can stream up to three matchups simultaneously. Live sports are only available on HBO Max’s Standard ($18.50 per month) and Premium ($23 a month) plans.
James Martin/CNET
You’ll be able to watch select games from the First Round to the Elite Eight live on CBS, which streams on Paramount Plus Premium. A subscription typically costs $14 a month, but now through March 31, new customers and select returning customers can get their first two months for just $3 a month.
Watch March Madness with a live TV streaming service
Don’t want to subscribe to multiple streaming services to watch March Madness? That’s understandable. There are a few live TV streaming services where you can watch most or all of the men’s and women’s tournaments all in one place. Each of them offers a free trial.
The men’s games will be on CBS, TBS, TNT and TruTV, and women’s games will be carried across ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPNews. With a subscription to DirecTV, Hulu Plus Live TV or YouTube TV, you can watch every channel that’s broadcasting the men’s and women’s tournaments.
We’ll note that Fubo offers major sporting events and even includes access to ESPN Unlimited. It doesn’t carry TBS, TNT or TruTV, making it a less ideal option for watching the men’s tournament.
James Martin/CNET
YouTube TV costs $83 per month and includes CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV for the men’s tournament and ESPN’s suite of channels for the women’s tournament. Right now, you can sign up for YouTube TV and get your first two months for $60/month, and there is a free 21-day trial.
Not every local channel is available in every market, so you’ll need to make sure the networks broadcasting the 2026 tournament are offered in your area. Plug in your ZIP code on its welcome page to see which local networks you get.
Hulu with Live TV costs $90 a month and features every channel you need to watch both March Madness tournaments. On its live news page, you can enter your ZIP code under the “Can I watch local news in my area?” question at the bottom of the page to see which local channels you get.
DirecTV’s MySports package costs $70 a month and includes ABC, CBS, ESPN Unlimited, TBS, TNT and TruTV, which means it’s one of the most comprehensive places to watch every March Madness game. Use the channel lookup tool to see which local channels are available where you live. Read our DirecTV MySports review.
Fubo
Fubo’s sports package costs $46 for your first month after the free trial. Like the primary Fubo packages, it offers ABC, CBS and a subscription to ESPN Unlimited. Fubo’s Pro plan costs $74 a month and includes ABC, CBS and access to ESPN Unlimited. Fubo is currently offering the first month for $49 on the Pro plan. Click here to see which local channels you get. Read our Fubo review.
For more, check out our live TV streaming services guide and our recommendations for the best sports streaming services.
March Madness tournament schedule:
Men’s March Madness schedule
First Four: Tuesday-Wednesday
First Round: Thursday-Friday
Second Round: Saturday-Sunday
Sweet 16: March 26-27
Elite Eight: March 28-29
Final Four: April 4
National Championship: April 6, 8:30 p.m. ET (TBS)
Women’s March Madness schedule
First Four: Wednesday-Thursday
First round: Friday-Saturday
Second round: Sunday-Monday
Sweet 16: March 27-28
Elite Eight: March 29-30
Final Four: April 3 at 7 p.m. ET (Second semifinal starts 30 minutes after the first game ends.)
NCAA championship game: April 5 at 3:30 p.m. ET (ABC)
March Madness men’s individual game schedule:
All times Eastern. For completed games, the winning team is in bold.
First Four:
Tuesday
6:40 p.m.: No. 16 UMBC (83) vs. (86) No. 16 Howard (TruTV)
9:10 p.m.: No. 11 Texas (68) vs. (66) No. 11 NC State (TruTV)
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