The 122nd Boston Marathon weekend in April will require runners and other race visitors to stray from the typical Boylston Street hub of activity. The expo, where runners collect their race bibs and t-shirts, has been relocated from the Hynes Convention Center in the Back Bay to the Seaport World Trade Center about two miles east.

Tom Grilk, CEO of the Boston Athletic Association, said the decision to move was a “simple one.”

“We had no choice,” he said, in a phone interview with Runner’s World on Wednesday. “Our preference is to have the expo at the Hynes Auditorium in the Back Bay section of Boston…We like to do that every year, however we don’t control access to the Hynes Auditorium and we don’t have any special preference in obtaining its use.”

In other words, the usual location at 900 Boylston Street, leading up to the famed finish line, was booked, Grilk said.

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A call to the media relations office of the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority was not immediately returned on Thursday, but the Hynes Convention calendar currently shows an overlap with the marathon expo (schedule for April 13–15) on April 13, when the Ambulatory Surgery Center Association annual meeting is scheduled for approximately 2,000 attendees. The Boston Marathon expo attracts 100,000 attendees, including about 30,000 race registrants, according to the organization’s statistics.

Grilk made clear that the BAA prefers the traditional location in the Back Bay. He explained that it’s more convenient for visitors and it benefits the local businesses that may suffer when streets are closed for the race on Patriot’s Day, but see increased sales in the three days leading up to it because of the foot traffic generated by the expo.

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The new expo location at 200 Seaport Boulevard also has some advantages, Grilk pointed out.

“It’s a newly expanding area of Boston and has been the source of a large amount of development in the last few years with hotels, retail establishments, and lots of restaurants going in,” he said. “So if the expo is not going to be in the Back Bay where we can keep the experience compact, then the Seaport area has a great deal to offer.”

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To get there, expo attendees who are staying in the Back Bay area have a few options. Take the T (Boston’s subway), a taxi, or walk a couple of miles by Boston Common and along the waterfront.

“[On the subway] they have to connect twice, which sounds like a lot, but I often go there and it moves very easily,” Grilk said.

Vendor participation at the expo seems to be holding steady, based on anecdotal evidence, Grilk said.

“All I can say is that the expo floor has looked filled to me the past few years, so they’re coming. Whether it’s the same ones who are coming or there’s some turnover I couldn’t say,” he said.

As for 2018 race registration, it closed on Wednesday and all accepted athletes will be notified by next week.

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