Nearly 36,000 runners set out from the Boston Marathon starting line with security tight along the 26.2-mile (42-kilometer) course Monday, in a show of resilience a year after the bombing that turned the race into a scene of carnage.
American Meb Keflizighi, a former New York City Marathon champion and Olympic medalist, won the men's title in 2 hours, 8 minutes, 37 seconds. He was the first American man to win in three decades.Police were deployed in force along the route, with helicopters circling above and bomb-sniffing dogs checking through trash cans. Officers were posted on roofs.
The two pressure-cooker bombs that went off near the finish line last year killed three people and wounded more than 260 in a hellish spectacle of torn limbs, smoke and broken glass.Boston Marathon race director Dave McGillivray said it had been a long and difficult year. "We're taking back our race," he said. "We're taking back the finish line."
A total of 35,755 athletes were registered to run — the second-largest field in its history, with many coming to show support for the event and the city that was traumatized by the attack on its signature sporting event. "I can't imagine the number of emotions that are going to be there," said Katie O'Donnell, who was stopped less than a mile from the end last year. "I think I'm going to start crying at the starting line, and I'm not sure I'll stop until I cross the finish line."
Buses bearing the message "Boston Strong" dropped off runners at the starting line in the town of Hopkinton. A banner on one building read: "You are Boston Strong. You Earned This."Among the signs lining the end of the route was one paying tribute to 8-year-old Martin Richard, the youngest of those killed in the bombing. "No more hurting people. Peace," read the sign. A photograph of Martin holding a poster he made for school with those words was published after his death. I showed up, I'm back, and I’m going to finish what I didn't finish last year," said Mary Cunningham of St. Petersburg, Florida, who was stopped a mile short of the finish line by the explosions last year.
Sabrina Dello Russo, 38, of South Boston, was running her first marathon for a good friend, Roseann Sdoia, who lost her right leg in the bombing. "She is my inspiration from day one last year when I saw her in the ICU. Every run I do, she is in the back of my head, and she will be keeping me going today," Dello Russo said.