How the Boston bombings brought runners together
What was supposed to be an annual celebration of running turned to horror, as twin explosions killed three people and injured 264 at the 2013 Boston Marathon. At 2:49 p.m. eastern time on April 16, when many of the marathon’s runners were finishing their race along iconic Boylston Street, the first of two homemade explosions detonated near the finish line. Thirteen seconds later, as the sky was still filled with white smoke from the first blast, a second bomb went off some 200m up the street. Until that point, the 117th running of the race was an exciting and celebratory day, particularly for fans of Canadian distance running.
Lelisa Desisa of Ethiopia won the race, but it was Canada’s Robin Watson who stunned the running world for a significant stretch of the marathon. The London, Ont. native led in the early stages, taking the field through 5k in 15:34 and 10k in 30:55 before succumbing as expected to some of the top African runners in the world. Desisa outlasted countryman Gebre Gebremariam and Kenya’s Micah Kogo to take the prestigious title in 2:10:22. Kogo was second in 2:10:27 with Gebremariam one second back in 2:10:28 after the three Africans broke the chess match in the late going and entered into a furious sprint.
Watson, who ran with the leaders for most of the race, finished 11th in 2:15:33. “I was just running my paces and (American Jason) Hartmann and I found ourselves leading,” Watson said. “The Africans were playing some games and slowed their pace down, so we just ran our own race. When we came back on them after they’d passed us we hadn’t sped up at all, we were just running our paces.” Kenya’s Rita Jeptoo won the women’s race in 2:26:25. While non-contenders often assume the early lead to get some camera time, Watson proved he wasn’t doing it just for vanity. When it appeared that he might fade out of the picture, he regained position in the lead pack at the midway point, splitting 21.1k in 1:04:55. Watson even managed to open a small gap on the field over the next few kilometres. But as the race headed into the gruelling Newton hills, Watson got spit out the back, just before 30k. He would end up just off his goal of a top 10 finish in what many consider to be the crown jewel of the global major marathons.
Nonetheless, Watson, who hopes to make the Olympic marathon team for Rio 2016, sees this as a huge step in the right direction. “I mean, I was leading the Boston Marathon at 13 miles. It was an amazing experience.” Watson told Canadian Running while in the Fairmont Copley Plaza, not far from the finish line, minutes before the explosions.
Ultimately, the Boston bombings inspired thousands to rally behind the victims. The Boston “One Fund” was quickly established and has raised more than $10 million. In the days and weeks after Boston, runners around the world showed their support for the victims, the Boston Athletic Association and the people of Boston, by wearing the marathon’s iconic yellow and blue. Moments of silence were observed at various races, including the London Marathon, the bmo Vancouver Marathon, the Toronto Yonge Street 10k and the Vancouver Sun Run. There were also dozens of informal tribute runs across the world, including well attended events in every major Canadian city.– MD