Marathon Monday and the Scream Tunnel hold a special place in the hearts of Wellesley College students, alums and Boston Marathon runners. Wellesley takes great pride in being the loudest cheering section of the marathon and giving runners that much-needed midway boost with cheers, hundreds of handmade signs, and kisses. One year after the 2013 Boston Marathon tragedy, Wellesley is rallying to create the biggest, loudest, and strongest Scream Tunnel ever.
Who/What: Hundreds of Wellesley College students, graduates, and friends cheer on this year’s Boston Marathon runners with a Scream Tunnel that’s the biggest in history. Watch video of the 2012 Scream Tunnel here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Jx7t8p4GWw
Visual/Audio Opportunities include:
- The loudest Scream Tunnel ever, thanks to some 2000 Wellesley students, alums, and friends with the help of 250 megaphones and 150 cowbells
- Wellesley women greeting runners with cheers, kisses, and 800 signs that were requested by runners through Facebook.
- An art installation of thousands of origami hummingbirds—symbols of peace handmade by students and Wellesley town residents as part of the Boston Better project—along the Scream Tunnel portion of the marathon route.
When: Marathon Monday, April 21, 2014. Peak time is 10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
Where: The Marathon Route along Wellesley College on Rt. 135 (college address is 106 Central Street, Wellesley, Mass.) Parking for accredited members of the media is available upon advance request. Please email mediarelations@wellesley.edu to request accreditation.
About the Scream Tunnel – A Tradition as Old as the Marathon Itself
The first Boston Marathon was run in 1897, just a year after the first modern Olympics were held—and 22 years after Wellesley College admitted its first students. The College is around the halfway point on the marathon route. In the first race, Wellesley students are reported to have cheered on a particular favorite (a Harvard student), thus setting a precedent for vociferous support for the runners. That support continued every year, and soon turned into tradition, now known as the Scream Tunnel. The ritual gained momentum in the 1970s when women were at last allowed to officially run the race.
About Wellesley College
Since 1875, Wellesley College has been the preeminent liberal arts college for women. Known for its intellectual rigor and its remarkable track record for the cultivation of women leaders in every arena, Wellesley—only 12 miles from Boston—is home to some 2300 undergraduates from every state and 75 countries.
