Depending on when you’re visiting Boston, you may be able to make out the finish line itself – a blue and yellow line painted across Boylston Street. The line is painted each spring ahead of marathon day, and then gradually worn away by the elements.
The Marathon is arguably the most world-renowned of Boston’s many cherished sporting events. What began at the end of the nineteenth century with 18 runners is now the world’s oldest annual marathon. It attracts about 30,000 runners and 500,000 spectators each year. It’s held on the third
Monday in April, which means the weather conditions vary widely each year. Runners have to brave both the weather and Massachusetts’ hilly terrain in order to win, making it an especially attractive race.
But recently, after over 100 uninterrupted years of Boston Marathons, tragedy struck. During the 2013 Marathon, just steps away from where you’re standing, two homemade bombs exploded in an act of domestic terrorism. Three people were killed and 264 were injured. A harrowing manhunt followed while the authorities searched for the bombers, two Kyrgyzstani-American brothers who had become Islamic extremists while living in the US. The elder of the two was killed while trying to evade capture and the younger brother was eventually arrested, found guilty, and
sentenced to death.
A spontaneous memorial sprung up in the days and weeks after the bombing. In an especially poignant gesture, dozens of runners flocked to the site, building a wall of running shoes in solidarity with the victims and their families. Although there’s currently no plan to erect a permanent monument, April 15 has been declared One Boston Day, and the Marathon continues to attract runners from all over the world each year.
Continue walking in the same direction to the end of the block.
Photo “Boston Marathon Finish Line” by Eva is licensed under CC BY 2.0
