51�Թ�

Most people in Massachusetts don’t see Patriots’ Day this way; for them, it’s just a day off, a costume parade their parents used to take them to, and the Boston Marathon.

In that respect, the festivities that Massachusetts calls “Patriots’ Day” weekend present an interesting challenge.

Adapting the book was “one of the most difficult challenges I’ve ever had as a writer,” said Zetumer, whose credits include “Patriots Day,” a dramatization of the 2013 Boston marathon bombings.

At 6 a.m., race director Dave McGillivray sent out a group of about 20 from the Massachusetts National Guard that hikes the course on the state holiday of Patriots’ Day commemorating the start of the Revolutionary War.

Spectators were urged to take public transportation not just to the marathon, but to the annual Patriots’ Day Boston Red Sox game and a possible Boston Bruins playoff game, Cox said.