Welcome to Boston! Early is the key, day before is best.
From
South Station you take a
Red Line train bound for Alewife, the inbound direction, try to get the next to last car. Get off the
Red Line train at
Park St Station. It is a two station ride.
At Park St look for the stairs that go up to the
Green Line platforms that are bound for
Boston College (B), Cleavland Circle (C), Riverside (D). If you get the next to last car on the
Red Line it should put you in the just about right spot.
The finish line is at
Copley Station on the
Green Line but it will be closed so you have to get off one stop before which is Arlington St or one stop after which is Hynes Convention Center. Take any of these
Green Line trains
Boston College (B), Cleavland Circle (C) or Riverside (D) to either of those stops.
Did I say early is the key? Beside the marathon there is a Red Sox game at 11 AM which added more people to the system. Not sure how crowded Copley will be or if it is a no-go zone. When I go to see the marathon I usual setup at the corner of Hereford and Boylston St. that would be the
Hynes Convention Center stop. It the last corner that the marathoners take on the way to the finish line.
I keep forgetting it I said, early is the key? If you want to be up front to see the marathoners and avoid the sausage cars. Hopefully you will be making a weekend of it so you can dub around the area and get the lay of the land. Pick up a Charlie Card, its the hard card, at South Station. Here is the link for fare info:
http://www.mbta.com/fares_and_passes/
and for general MBTA info:
http://www.mbta.com/
When I go in for it I usually shoot for being there by 9 AM but I have several places I hang out at in that area. This year I will be on or just coming off the DL so I will be taking it in on the TV. Oh, I forgot after a certain point in time it will be impossible to cross from one side of Boylston St to the other.
JoeD