This morning in Hopkinton, 30,000 runners will embark on the 26.2 mile route to Boston, writing another exciting chapter – the 129th, to be exact – in this iconic race that is woven into the DNA of our city and our state.

From the tip of the Cape to the Berkshires, there is an identity, a backbone, an attitude, that is uniquely Massachusetts (and I don’t just mean a preference for iced coffee in the middle of January). We don’t shy away from what’s difficult. No one embodies this more than those determined souls who spend their Bay State winters training to run a marathon in April.

Consider the history. The tens of thousands of runners who laced up their sneakers this morning is a bit more than the 77 brave Minutemen who mustered on Lexington Green before dawn on April 19, 1775 to face 700 British regulars on their way to Concord. By the time the Redcoats made it to Concord (after the first shots of the Revolution killed several militiamen), the number of brave patriots turned out for battle had grown to about 400.

The courageous stance of these men during the opening volleys of the Revolutionary War set an inspired example for citizen-soldiers across the 13 colonies. Their defiance of the British military might have an even greater resonance this year, as we mark the 250th anniversary of those historic actions at Lexington and Concord.

Of course, as every elementary school student learns, the town militias were ready for the fight because Paul Revere, William Dawes, and others rode through the Middlesex countryside that night (a few miles short of 26, by the way) to sound the alarm that British regulars were on the move, and to warn Sam Adams and John Hancock that they might be targeted for arrest.

Those first patriots, fighting for a nascent idea of independence, and for each other, were the original “Boston Strong” torchbearers.

Bay Staters have carried that attitude ever since. It’s seen in our toughness, but also in our compassion. Among those running the 129th Boston Marathon presented by Bank of America are thousands who are raising money for organizations and causes dear to them.

The Bank of America Boston Marathon Official Charity Program this year includes 176 charitable organizations that are benefitting from the dedication of many of today’s runners. Many are inspired by personal stories of people they loved and lost, and the money they raise will help people they will never meet. Of the many reasons we at the bank are honored to partner with the Boston Marathon, being able to support these remarkable runners is at the forefront.

That concern for others, for striving to do what is right, to do something (like running a marathon) not because it is easy but because it is hard, embodies what it means to be from this place. To the more than 30,000 runners from 127 countries and all 50 states, whether you set a personal best or just enjoy the run, and to all who are running to help others, I thank you.

You are the spiritual descendants of our colonial forefathers; in another time, I would have expected to see many of you assembled on Lexington Green and Concord’s North Bridge, shoulder to shoulder with those brave Minutemen.

I salute every runner around the world for your Massachusetts DNA. It’s no wonder the Revolution started here.

Miceal Chamberlain is president of Bank of America Massachusetts

Fifes and drums of the Concord Minutemen make their way towards the Old North Bridge during the Dawn Salute early Saturday morning marking the start of the Revolutionary War during 250th anniversary celebrations. (Mark Stockwell/Boston Herald)