Monday’s Boston Marathon comes a decade after the terrorist attack on the finish line of the race and the subsequent manhunt that killed four victims and one of the two attackers.
The exact 10th anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombing occurred on Sunday, but reminders of the tragedy were visible during the 127th edition of the event on Monday.
Beyond the traditional signs and monuments, law enforcement was seen using a robotic dog to search the area for bombs. It was followed by photographers who captured the strange place.
Boston Red Sox legend David Ortiz served as the race’s grand marshal nearly 10 years after his famous “This is Our Town” speech at Fenway Park after the bombing. The Red Sox would win the World Series later that season.
This year’s race includes members of the One Fund community – survivors of the 2013 attack, along with friends and family of the victims and those raising money for similar causes. Some of the Guard members marching the course said they were thinking of those killed and their families. Staff Sgt. Brenda Santana, 30, of Saugus, Mass., said she was likely to cry at the finish.
The elite women set off from the start line in the 127th Boston Marathon on Monday
The men’s elite runners are pictured in the early stages of Monday’s race outside of Boston
David Ortiz served as the race’s Grand Marshall for 10 years after his “This is Our Town” speech
“I think it will be emotional as I remember the tragedy and the lives lost,” she said. “I will remember them when I cross the finish line.”
On Saturday, many marathon runners in their blue and yellow windbreakers and several former Boston Red Sox players came out for a ceremony near the finish line. Church bells rang and the Boston City Singers and Boston Pops performed “Amazing Grace” and “America the Beautiful.” Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, who was running for city council for the first time at the time of the bombing, joined the somber procession along with Gov. Maura Healey. At each memorial – marked with three stone pillars – they stood in silence with the families.
The annual Patriots Day race came to an end on April 16, 2013 when two backpack bombs detonated near the finish line on Boylston Street. The explosives were set to detonate more than four hours into the race – when the bulk of the runners were expected to near the finish.
The bombing killed three people and injured more than 281.
Among the dead were Lu Lingzi, a 23-year-old Boston University graduate student from China; Krystle Campbell, a 29-year-old restaurant manager from Medford, Massachusetts; and 8-year-old Martin Richard, who had gone to the marathon with his family.
On Monday, several of Richard’s childhood friends plan to run the race in his memory.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology Police Officer Sean Collier was shot dead in his car during a tense four-day manhunt that paralyzed the city. Boston Police Officer Dennis Simmonds also died a year after being wounded in a standoff with the bombers.
Police arrested a bloodied and wounded Dzhokhar Tsarnaev in the Boston suburb of Watertown, where he was hiding in a boat parked in a backyard hours after his brother’s death. Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, was involved in a shootout with police and was run over by his brother while trying to escape.
“I think we’re all still living in those tragic days 10 years ago,” said Bill Evans, the former Boston Police Commissioner, recently.
Marcel Hug of Switzerland breaks the ribbon to win the men’s wheelchair division on Monday
A general view of a police officer patrolling the finish area at the 2023 Boston Marathon
A person cleans a logo near the finish line before the start of the 127th Boston Marathon
Workers clean the wet finish line during the 127th Boston Marathon Monday in Boston
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was sentenced to death but is now fighting a lawsuit to save his life
Tamerlan Tsarnaev was a gold-gloved boxer before turning to domestic terror
Martin Richard, 8, was killed in the 2013 bombing while watching the race with his parents
Former Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask (centre) is seen with Richard’s friends at the marathon
Former Red Sox players Jonny Gomes, David Ortiz and Jacoby Ellsbury at a recent ceremony
Ortiz famously gave an inspirational — albeit loaded with atonement — speech after the bombings
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was sentenced to death and much of the attention in recent years has focused on his attempt to avoid execution.
A federal appeals court is reviewing Tsarnaev’s recent request to stay the execution. A three-judge panel at the US First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston heard arguments in the 29-year-old’s case in January but has yet to make a decision.
The Court of Appeals initially overturned Tsarnaev’s death sentence in 2020 on the grounds that the trial judge did not adequately screen the jury for possible bias. But the US Supreme Court revived it last year.
The 1st Circuit is now considering whether other issues not considered by the Supreme Court require a second overturn of the death sentence. Among other things, Tsarnaev says the trial judge wrongly denied his challenge to two jurors who defense attorneys say lied during the jury questioning.
The bombing not only unified Boston – “Boston Strong” became the city’s rallying cry – but also inspired many in the running community and prompted many affected by the terrorist attacks to run the marathon. At Saturday’s memorials, several flower pots labeled “Boston Strong” contained so-called marathon daffodils.
“It was really inspiring and showed the resilience of our sport and our city, our desire to do better together and improve the Boston Marathon,” said Jack Fleming, president and CEO of the Boston Athletic Association. “The bombing of 2013 led to a new appreciation or a different appreciation of what Boston, what the Boston Marathon has always stood for, which is that expression of freedom that you get and get in running.”
Police arrested Dzhokhar Tsarnaev in Watertown, where he was hiding in a boat
A tactical police unit drives through the streets as they search for a 19-year-old suspect
A police officer stops a car as the search for the alleged 2013 bombings continues
The fastest and most decorated elite field ever assembled at Hopkinton prepares to cross the starting line for the 127th Boston Marathon on Monday.
The group includes world record holders, Olympic and Paralympic medalists, major marathon winners from 27 countries and a dozen Boston Marathon winners, according to the Boston Athletic Association, which administers the prestigious race. World record holder Eliud Kipchoge makes his Boston Marathon debut.
About 30,000 athletes will run 26.2 miles (42.2 kilometers) to Copley Square in Boston. A light drizzle made for wet roads at the start and the runners could face headwinds. The temperature is expected to be in the low 50’s.
This year, the race includes a new division for non-binary athletes.
At 6 a.m. in Hopkinton, race director Dave McGillivray dispatched a group of about 20 people from the Massachusetts National Guard, who run the course annually, and announced the start of the marathon. He thanked them for their service and wished them well for the course.
Race Director Dave McGillivray speaks to a group from the Massachusetts National Guard
McGillivray said in an interview that the field is the fastest on paper, but Boston is all about strategy and not about breaking a world record. Because of the topography and hilly nature of the course, it’s very different from other major marathon courses, he added.
“How you drive it is just as important, if not more so, than how fast you drive it,” he said. “Of course you need a fast time to win, but at the same time you don’t necessarily want to go all out and try to run the whole race alone. Some maybe. Who knows? We’ll see today.’
The wheelchair divisions were scheduled to start just after 9 a.m., followed by the elite fields. Kipchoge set the record of 2 hours, 1 minute, 9 seconds in Berlin in 2019 and also broke 2 hours in an exhibition in a Vienna park that year. His personal best is nearly 2 minutes better than the second fastest runners in the field, defending champion Evans Chebet, also of Kenya, and Gabriel Geay of Tanzania.
The Frauenfeld is also one of the fastest in Boston. Amane Beriso of Ethiopia is one of three women to break 2:15:00.
A person walks past a memorial to those killed in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing