Peabody People in the 117th Boston Marathon

Eighteen Peabody runners will compete officially in the world’s oldest marathon on Monday for Patriots Day.

The grueling 26.2-mile race has an entry list of 26,825 this year – racers who have been training for months, and they all compete for different reasons.

Peabody resident Mike Bedard, for instance, is running to support Best Buddies Massachusetts to benefit the program which works with students who have intellectual and developmental disabilities.

The Boston Athletic Association, which organizes the marathon, provides some basic information about the race here.

The marathon gets underway at 9 a.m., with the first start for the Mobility Impaired Program, followed at 9:17 a.m. by the Push Rim Wheelchair Division and the Handcycle Participants at 9:22 a.m. The Elite Women’s start is scheduled for 9:32 a.m. while the Elite Men’s start and the First Wave is at 10 a.m. The Second Wave is released at 10:20 a.m., followed by the Third Wave at 10:40 a.m.

The historic course starts in Hopkinton and passes through Ashland, Framingham, Natick, and Wellesley on to Boston. The finish is near the John Hancock Tower in Copley Square.

For the first time this year, the BAA says it has created a mobile app to help runners and spectators maximize their handheld Patriots' Day experience. You can find the app here.

If you can’t physically follow family and friends the day of but want to get regular updates on their progress, don’t worry, real-time reports are available thanks to AT&T.

You can sign up for AT&T Athlete Alert, which will track everyone from the top runners to the back of the line throughout the race. You can register directly to receive updates the day of from your AT&T, Boost, Nextel, Sprint, T-Mobile, US Cellular or Verizon mobile phone. Text "RUNNER" to 345678.

You will need the athlete’s bib number to register.

Also check back to Peabody Patch later this afternoon for final results for the local runners. You can also search for them using the widget above of the BAA site.

Without further ado, here are the marathoners from Peabody: