5 Things You Need To Know Today: Marathon Monday & Patriots' Day 2014

 
1. Today is Marathon Monday. It is the 118th running of the Boston Marathon. 

• If you want to follow a runner, click here for a list of runners and information on an app you can download to see where they are on the 26.2 mile race.
  
• There are more than 70 Framingham runners, including 25 from Team Framingham. Click here to read more about how Team Framingham raised more than $45,000 for 6 Framingham-based charities.
• If you plan to be a spectator in Framingham, click here for everything you need to know and what you should not bring to the route.
  
• Looking for a place to watch the Marathon in Framingham, consider Mile 6. Framingham Downtown Renaissance is hosting a party downtown at the intersection of routes 135 and 126. Click here for more details.
  
• And if you are at the 6 Mile Moment downtown, check out the heart sculpture by FYI for the Arts. For more on the sculpture, crafted by Keefe Technical students, click here.
  

2. In Massachusetts, today is also Patriots' Day. The Massachusetts holiday commemorating the anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775, the first battles of the American Revolutionary War. It is observed on the third Monday in April. For activities in historic Lexington, click here.

State offices are closed but federal offices are open today, including the U.S. Post Office, so there is mail delivery.

Framingham Public Library and its branch are closed today, too.

3. Fuller Middle school's Interact Club will be out and about along the Boston Marathon Route with members of the Framingham Rotary collecting money for Special Olympics. The Club will also offer parking at the Sewfisticates parking lot, with a recommended donation of $10, which will also go to the Special Olympics. Last year, the Interact Club and the Rotary raised more than $1,000.

​4​. ​​And if you spot daffodils along the Boston Marathon route in Framingham, many were planted last fall by Fuller Middle School students. The students planted 1,000 bulbs in two hours. Click here to read about the local planting.

Click here to read about the project, which had volunteers planting daffodils along the entire 26.2 mile course.

5. ​In Case You Missed It:  If you are in Boston today for the Marathon, stop by the Boston Common and look for the canvas created by students and staff from Potter Road Elementary School. The Framingham school participated in the America 4 Boston project. ​More than 200 canvasses, representing all 50 states and every community along the Boston Marathon Route, signed by more than 100,000 individuals​ will be on display on the Boston Common today, April 21 until 5 p.m. Click here to read the article about Potter Road's participation.​