The men's lead pack has passed the statue of Greek hero Stylianos Kyriakides, winner of the 1946 Boston Marathon, at the one-mile mark. It's one of a growing list of statuary decorating the marathon route. Kyriakides won the first marathon after World War II despite not having run in six years and nearly starving to death during the German occupation of his war-ravaged homeland. He used the improbable victory to mobilize support for Greece, and was greeted by nearly a million people when he returned home with boatloads of food, medicine, and supplies donated by Americans.

Tatyana McFadden is leading fellow wheelchair racer Wakako Tsuchida by about 25 yards.

Wheelchair racer Tatyana McFadden is all alone at mile 15 with a time of 52:51.

The elite women ran the first 10K in 32:32 - that's a pace of 2:17:21, very fast indeed, given that the course record is 2:20:43, set by Margaret Okayo of Kenya in 2002. It is 57.8 degrees.

If Rita Jeptoo of Kenya crosses the finish line first today, she will be the first women’s champion to repeat since countrywoman Catherine Ndereba in 2005.

It’s not surprising that the second-largest field in Boston Marathon history contains a record number of women, both in number (16,081) and percentage (45%). The former records were 11,606 and 43%, set last year.

Buzunesh Deba of Ethiopia is making her Boston debut after having run New York four of the past five years, finishing second twice - in 2011 and 2013. She has won eight marathons in the US, including San Diego in 2011, where she broke the course record with a 2:23:31.

Keep an eye on Flomena Chepchichir of Kenya, bib F9. She has won three half-marathons as well as the Seoul Marathon last year, and set a personal best when she finished second in Frankfurt in 2:23:00.

After last year, 64-year-old Bennett Beach of Bethesda, Md., has sole possession of the record for consecutive Boston Marathon finishes, with 46. Bennett, who is a writer and editor for the US State Department, was profiled by John Powers in yesterday's Globe. Today he'll be going for 47, which would keep him one race ahead of Tim Lepore, 69, Nantucket's only full-time surgeon, who will be trying to finish his 46th straight. Mark Bauman, 64, who owns a running store in Flint, Mich., is going for his 45th straight.

According to the BAA, there are 52 runners who currently have finishing streaks of at least 25 straight years. Among them is Dave McGillivray, 59 of North Andover, who has been the Boston Marathon's race director since 2001. He will hit 42 straight if he finishes today, the fourth longest active streak. As the Globe's David Abel explains, McGillivray starts after the race is over, and is always the last official finisher.

There are four women among the 52, topped by Andrea Hatch of Colorado Springs, Colo., a former MIT administrator who at age 70 will be running in her 37th straight.

Ernst Van Dyk is pushing up the Newton hills. He is still well ahead in the men's wheelchair race, passing the 20-mile mark, just before Heartbreak Hill, in 1:01:08.

Caroline Kilel of Kenya counts her 2011 Boston win as one of eight career marathon victories to her name. Although she didn’t finish the Boston race in 2012, she posted a personal best of 2:22:34 when she won in Frankfurt.

At the 5K mark in Ashland the men's lead pack of more than 20 included Meb Keflezighi, Ryan Hall, Markos Geneti, Lelisa Desisa, Gebre Gebremariam, Abdi Abdirahman, Tilahun Regassa, and Micah Kogo. Their time was 15:09.

There are 8 runners in the pack of elite women runners at the 15K mark. Shalane Flanagan has relinquished the lead a couple of times at water stops to Buzunesh Deba, but regained it each time.

It took defending women’s champ Rita Jeptoo 7 years to win her second Boston Marathon - and almost 3 minutes longer. The elite Kenyan runner, wearing the F1 bib, ran 2:23:38 at age 25 in 2006, and 2:26:25 last year when she was 32.

It’s been 19 years since both the men’s and women’s champions successfully defended their titles - Cosmas Ndeti of Kenya and Uta Pippig of Germany did it in 1995. But Lelisa Desisa of Ethiopia and Rita Jeptoo of Kenya are favored to do exactly that today.

Men's wheelchair leader Ernst Van Dyk just went through Cleveland Circle. He passed 22 miles in 1:08:09, his lead still intact.

If an Ethiopian is going to reclaim the women’s laurel wreath from the Kenyans today, it could be Mare Dibaba, 24, who is wearing bib F2. She recorded her first career win at this year’s Xiamen International Marathon in China with a course-record 2:21:36.

Dibaba is currently running right behind Shalane Flanagan in the women's race.

Americans are currently leading both the men's and women's races.

Men's wheelchair leader Ernst Van Dyk of South Africa passed 24 miles in 1:13:28.

At the top of Heartbreak Hill in Newton, American Tatyana McFadden, the women's wheelchair defending champ, is still in front, racing the first 20 miles in 1:11:55.

Women's leader Shalane Flanagan isn't hard to miss on the course: she is racing in bright pink shoes.