New Half Marathon Route Closes Memorial Drive Sunday; Harvard Square's Lot 2 Shuts Until January; Ahern Field Closed Monday for Soil Tests

Three notices posted by the City of Cambridge this week add up to a disruptive stretch for drivers, parkers and park users in the city from Saturday through Monday.

The biggest is the CambridgeSide 5K and Cambridge Half Marathon weekend. According to the city's Department of Transportation, the half marathon on Sunday, Nov. 1, will begin and end on Edwin H. Land Boulevard in East Cambridge this year, and because of the updated route, "road closures will differ from previous years." Runners start at 7 a.m. and travel west along Memorial Drive toward West Cambridge before returning along the Charles River.

The Sunday closures, as listed by the city, are: Edwin H. Land Boulevard from McGrath Highway to Memorial Drive, 5 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.; Memorial Drive, eastbound and westbound, along the race route toward Gerry's Landing Road, 6:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.; and Rogers Street from First Street to Land Boulevard, 6:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Roads are expected to reopen by 11:30 a.m.

The 5K comes first, on Saturday, Oct. 31, which is also Halloween. It begins and ends at CambridgeSide, with runners leaving at 10 a.m. and traveling along Land Boulevard and Memorial Drive. The city says to expect closures between 6:30 a.m. and noon. Specifically, Land Boulevard from Binney Street to Memorial Drive closes from 9:45 a.m. to 11 a.m., and Memorial Drive in both directions from Land Boulevard to the BU Bridge closes from 6:30 a.m. to 11 a.m.

On Saturday, a grid of short East Cambridge streets between First and Second streets near CambridgeSide will also close from 7 a.m. to noon: Otis, Thorndike, Spring, Charles, Bent, Rogers, Binney and Athenaeum streets and Linskey Way. Cambridge Police details will be posted along both courses. The city lists [email protected] for questions.

On Sunday, Memorial Drive will be closed in both directions along the race route for five hours, from 6:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., and Land Boulevard for six and a half hours.

The second notice affects Harvard Square parking well beyond the weekend. Lot 2, the garage beneath the Harvard Square Hotel, will close entirely beginning Monday, Nov. 2, while Harvard University completes structural repairs, according to the city. Parts of the lot were closed to parkers for construction earlier this year; now all of it will be closed so crews can finish the repairs and stage equipment.

The city says construction is expected to be complete by Jan. 30, 2027. The Harvard Square Hotel will also be closed during the work and is expected to reopen in February 2027. Nearby residents and businesses may hear construction noise. The project is managed by Harvard University, and questions go to the Harvard University Construction Mitigation team at 617-496-0857 or [email protected], the notice says.

The closure runs through the holiday shopping season. In a separate Oct. 29 notice, the city urged residents to shop at Cambridge small businesses this winter, noting that Small Business Saturday is Nov. 28 and that "holiday sales can make or break a small business for the entire year." The notice suggests ordering food directly rather than through delivery apps, which it says can take up to 30% of a restaurant's sales, and choosing in-store or curbside pickup.

Weather should cooperate with the races. NBC10 Boston's forecast calls for a cold start on Saturday, in the 30s and 40s, rising only to the low and mid-50s, with temperatures near 60 on Sunday under sunny skies. The forecast also notes that clocks turn back an hour overnight Saturday, hours before Sunday's 5 a.m. Land Boulevard closure begins. NBC10 warned of elevated fire danger Friday after 13 days without rain.

The third notice concerns Ahern Field and the adjacent playground, which will close temporarily on Monday, Nov. 2, while the city's consultant, CDM Smith, collects soil samples as part of an ongoing construction project. According to the city's Capital Building Projects department, the closures will occur in sections as work moves across the site. Crews will use a Geoprobe to take shallow samples to a depth of about 3 feet, and holes will be repaired at the end of the workday.

The city says the sample locations were selected "to characterize the soil for disposal purposes," meaning to determine how excavated soil must be handled and where it can be taken. The notice says the work is expected to have minimal impact, though heavy equipment will make some noise. Questions go to Emma Twombly, Capital Building Projects communications manager, at 857-320-0814, and project updates are posted at cambridgema.gov/ahernfield.

None of the notices give the expected number of race participants, the cost of the Lot 2 repairs or the results timeline for the Ahern Field soil tests.