Boston Took Back The Finish Line

This past week in Boston was an emotional one; from the one year anniversary of the Marathon bombings last week on April 15th to running of the race yesterday.  As a person who has called Boston home for the entire 30 years of my life, Marathon Monday has always been in many ways a high holiday.  As a kid it meant having school off, in college at BC it meant having a big party with fellow students while cheering on the runners as they finished up Heartbreak Hill, and as an adult it has meant meeting up with friends around the city and enjoying what always seems to be one of the first real nice days of spring. Last year however as we all know everything changed.  Four lives were lost and nearly 300 people were injured and many wondered as a result if one of the most celebrated events in Boston would ever be the same.

I think it's safe to say whenever the Boston Marathon occurs that we will always remember what happened on April 15, 2013, but the way yesterday transpired it is apparent the city has built itself back up.  Besides the great weather, it was awesome to see the large crowds on the sidewalks and the race packed with tens of thousands of runners all running for great causes.  The true sign however that I knew Boston took back the finish line however was when Patrick Downes and Jessica Kensky Downes crossed the finish line together (pictured above).  Both Patrick and Jessica lost their left legs last year during the explosions by the finish line last year, but just 53 weeks later they were able to cross the finish line together in handcycles.  As a BC alum in particular it was great to see a fellow Eagle in Patrick accomplish such a feat knowing all obstacles he and Jessica have had to overcome.

Between Patrick and Jessica and all the thousands of others who were able to finish the race along with an American male in Meb Keflezighi winning the Marathon for the first time since 1983, it was truly a special day.  The only way the day could have possibly gone better was if the Red Sox pulled off another massive comeback, but I will let that one slide given the way the organization honored all the first responders and victims the night before and then ended up coming from behind to beat the Orioles in the ninth inning.  All in all it was an awesome day and one in which I am proud to call myself a Bostonian.

Below I have posted a few pictures that I was able to take at the bottom of my street at the 25 kilometer mark in Wellesley.