After the tragic bombing of last year during the Boston Marathon there was an added significance to the 2014 race. Not only were runners reminded of the senseless act of violence, many didn't even get to finish the race last year. This year's event went incredibly well and best of all, there were free hugs!
The storied road race, which started in 1897, carried extra weight this year following the heinous bombing that took place in April 2013 (via CNN):
"But for most of the 36,000 runners, the race had nothing to do with competition. The 2013 race was marred by bombings near the end of the course that killed three people and wounded more than 260.
At the start Monday, as competitors stood shoulder to shoulder, the race announcer shouted to them, 'Take back that finish line!'"
The already high-profile event garnered even more attention than usual. President Obama Tweeted following Meb Keflezighi's and Shalane Flanagan's impressive victories: (via CNN):
"On race day, a tweet apparently from President Barack Obama appeared @WhiteHouse. 'Congrats to @runmeb and @ShalaneFlanagan for making America proud! All of today's runners showed the world the meaning of #BostonStrong. -bo'"
In perhaps the most stirring display at this year's race, one man stood with a t-shirt and a sign that both read "Free Hugs". The man has been identified as Ken E. Nwadike, Jr. and runs a company called Super Hero Events. Even though he missed the cut, Nwadike made the trip to offer moral support to the race participants (via Elite Daily):
"With all of the attention surrounding the Boston Marathon on Monday, there was no shortage of good people looking to honor the victims of last year's tragedy by going out there and spreading the good vibes. One man - who admits that after not qualifying to run in the race by 23 seconds, he wanted to involve himself in any way - even offered free hugs to runners along the route, where dozens of participants stopped to greet him. Seeing the kind of response he got from a lot of the runners was nothing but inspiring. They should've let him in the damn race!"
You can watch video of Nwadike showing the love here:
What do you think? What was your favorite part of the Marathon this year?
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