Patrick Downes, an amputee who survived the 2013 bombings at Boston Marathon’s finish line, returned to the race as a runner for the first time Monday, and finished the 120th Boston Marathon in a time of just less than six hours.
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One of this year’s runners was Adrianne Haslet, 35, who had previously attended the event on 2013, where she was observing runners just before a bomb fell near her and wounded her leg.
She said Monday’s race was a little warm for her and slowed her down, but her all-time best finish at a Boston Marathon was three hours, 34 minutes and two seconds previous year.
Mr Downes completed the marathon with a finish time of 05:56:46.
“Public safety officials are asking the public to assist in creating a No-Drone Zone along the entire course at this year’s Boston Marathon”, the release stated.
Haslet-Davis thanked race organizers, fellow runners, and her team for their support in helping her complete the race. “Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation and ATF, they do an fantastic job”, he said.
Her mind was 26.2 miles away, instead. “I always knew once I started running competitively that I was going to be running Boston”.
American Tatyana McFadden won the women’s wheelchair division for the fourth consecutive year, while Marcel Hug of Switzerland won the men’s wheelchair race, defending his 2015 title.
“We want to say “thank you” to this spectator for capturing and sharing this inspiring moment-one that displays what the spirit of the Boston Marathon is all about!, the police department wrote”.
Boston Marathon Race Director Dave McGillivray added at the Wednesday press conference that the heavy security measures were necessary for the protection of everyone in attendance.
In the end, her own steely determination – and the cheers, real and virtual, of people who lined the route and on social media – powered her to the same finish line where a bomb had left her shredded and bleeding three years earlier. “There was a point in my life I wasnt a ballroom dancer, either”, she said. “I will too, but it’s important to me to prove that I can for myself, but also inspire others”, said Haslet to CBS news in a statement. The U.S. Olympic marathon trials were in February in Los Angeles.
Monday’s race is the 120th and the 48th consecutive Boston Marathon to fall on a Monday, according to organizers.
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But in a way, she has been a marathoner all her life. She’s setting out to show the world that “cowards” can’t win.
