Boston Marathon Returns With Trump Fallout Rattling the Region

The finish line of the 2024 Boston Marathon Photo by Omar Rawlings /Photographer: Omar Rawlings/Gett

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(Bloomberg) — Duane Wesemann is one of about 30,000 people set to run in the Boston Marathon on Monday. Reaching the finish line is only part of his goal. He’s also seeking to raise money for research on vaccines to prevent future pandemics after the Trump administration scrapped his $10 million project. 

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The Boston Marathon is a top tourism event for the region, with runners and spectators traveling from all over the world to participate in the race held annually on the state’s Patriot’s Day holiday. The 26.2-mile (42-kilometer) contest, stretching from Hopkinton to the heart of the city at Copley Square, is one of the world’s oldest annual marathons. Last year’s event delivered a more than $500 million economic windfall to Massachusetts. 

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But Monday’s marathon is taking place amid a backdrop unlike any other in the race’s 129-year-old history. 

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International travel demand into the US is crumbling amid backlash to the Trump administration’s policies and concerns about passing through immigration checkpoints. Meanwhile, government funding cuts are threatening to cripple key institutions, including Harvard University and top-tier hospital systems, and to blow a hole through city and state budgets. 

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The federal government has frozen more than $2.2 billion in grants to Harvard as part of what it says is an effort to combat antisemitism on campus. The administration is also weighing cutting an additional $1 billion, according to the Wall Street Journal.

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Wesemann, an associate professor at Harvard Medical School and an immunologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, found out in March that the National Institutes of Health was canceling the remaining two years of his five-year project. The research focused on combating coronaviruses of all types, not just Covid-19, with the goal of preventing another pandemic or at least being better prepared the next time around. 

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“It still doesn’t quite make sense,” Wesemann said of the funding freeze. But there was nothing to be gained by sitting on his hands. So after Boston, he’s planning to run four more major marathons — including London and Sydney — to keep raising funds. 

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“There’s just something about running that energizes a charity effort,” he said. “I’m even thinking of just continuing to do consecutive majors, as many as I can get registered into, until this gets resolved.” 

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Despite the political tensions hanging over this year’s event, it’s set to be a pleasant day for runners, with weather forecasters predicting partly cloudy skies and a high of 57F (14C) on Monday. The crowd, donning famed red socks and armed with cowbells and posters, will create a vibrant atmosphere, all under the watchful eyes of security personnel. The heightened safety measures and increased medical services are a response to the 2013 bombings, which killed three people and injured hundreds of other spectators near the finish line.

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Organizers are still planning on a major economic lift and robust turnout — just with fewer international visitors this year. Canadian resident trips to the US by car and by air have plummeted, with Canada also issuing a new warning for travelers entering the US, saying they should “expect scrutiny” at the border and that their phones and other electronic devices may be searched. 

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“Canada is our largest inbound market from overseas,” said Martha Sheridan, president of tourism agency Meet Boston. “We’re definitely anticipating falloff there and also anticipating some falloff from other overseas markets just based on people’s apprehension to travel.” 

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