Lone runner logs miles on Boston Marathon route despite mayor’s warning during coronavirus pandemic

BOSTON — The Boston Marathon has been postponed for the first time in the history of the race. Boston Mayor Marty Walsh warned runners that they should not run the route from Hopkinton to Boylston Street on Monday.

“I want to discourage anyone from trying to run the route on April 20. The roads will not be closed and first responders will not be on hand,” Walsh said last month when he announced the race’s postponement.

More than 30,000 runners would have run the 26.2-mile race Monday.

But one person decided to still run a shorter part of the route by himself.

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Patrick MacAdie, who had been planning to run the marathon before it was postponed, ran a half marathon distance along the Boston Marathon route, The Associated Press reported.

MacAdie told the AP that running helps him cope and deal with the coronavirus pandemic.

He also said of his run, “You want to maintain some sense of normalcy and also be smart about social distancing and not putting other people at risk and obviously not being at risk yourself.”

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The Boston Marathon is now scheduled for Monday, Sept. 14.