By Associated Press

BOSTON – The daffodils have sprouted, the fall foliage has all been raked away, and the Boston Marathon is back in the spring where it belongs.

The world’s most prestigious marathon will return to the streets from Hopkinton to Copley Square on Monday, three years after the last Patriots Day race and six months after its 125th edition was delayed, canceled and delayed again by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We went for a run this morning and I was like, ‘OK, this is what it’s supposed to be. This feels normal,”’ 2018 winner Des Linden said last week. “The energy feels right back where we left off. So that was a nice reminder.”

After a smaller and socially distanced field ran in October, more than 28,000 runners have signed up for Monday’s 26.2-mile slog, including 11 former champions and what could be the fastest field ever.

Also moving quickly: Organizers who had 30 months between the 2019 and ‘21 events and then just 139 days since the only fall race in Boston Marathon history.

“And we can’t wait,” Boston Athletic Association President Tom Grilk said.

Monday’s forecast calls for temperatures in the 50s with no rain, and only the possibility of a slight headwind late in the afternoon for the stragglers.

Top Field

The women’s field is one of the strongest ever in Boston, with reigning Olympic gold medalist Peres Jepchirchir, London and New York winner Joyciline Jepkosgei, and Ethiopia’s Degitu Azimeraw all bringing personal bests under 2 hours, 18 minutes – two minutes faster than the Boston course record.

Linden and Tokyo bronze medalist Molly Seidel are the top American contenders.

Benson Kipruto of Kenya is attempting to become the first back-to-back Boston champion since Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot won three straight from 2006-08. Eight others have shown the speed to beat him, including Boston winners Lawrence Cherono (2019), Lemi Berhanu (‘16) and Lelisa Desisa (‘13, ‘15).

Colin Bennie, of Princeton, Massachusetts, and CJ Albertson, or Fresno, California, are back after finishing in the top 10 in October.