If I ever wrote a book, promised myself I’d release it at the Boston Marathon. When Running Was Young and So Were We came out in 2014, and I went to Don Kardong’s Bloomsday Run completely on the other side of the country. Seemed entirely wrong to celebrate on the first anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombing.
The 10th anniversary of 2013’s event seems like a great opportunity to celebrate the resiliency at the core of distance running. Legs and lungs get most of the credit, but it’s the heart that runs the show.
Boston has heart.
“We are one. We are strong. We are Boston. We are Boston strong.”
BEFORE THE RACE
Joan Samuelson, Greg Meyer, and Amby Burfoot to run 2013 Boston Marathon.
Jacqueline Hansen to Serve as Honorary, Official Starter of Elite Women’s Race.
Roberta “Bobbi” Gibb and Sara Mae Berman to Greet On-course Spectators and Honored as Grand Marshals.
BOSTON – With less than one month until the 117th Boston Marathon, the Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) today announced that several former champions of the Boston Marathon will return to Boston to participate in events surrounding this year’s running of the historic race. The 117th running of the world’s oldest annual marathon will take place on Monday, April 15, 2013.
Inaugural Olympic gold medalist Joan Samuelson will run this year’s Boston Marathon. Samuelson, 55, won the 1979 and 1983 Boston Marathons before winning the Olympic Games Marathon in Los Angeles in 1984. She will return to Boston on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of her 1983 victory, the race in which she established a world record (two hours, 22 minutes, 43 seconds). Samuelson has run the previous two Boston Marathons (2:51:29 in 2011; 3:28:08 in 2012), including last year under challenging conditions (i.e., extremely warm weather) while starting with her daughter, Abby. She is a member of principal sponsor John Hancock Financial Services’ Elite Athlete Team and is one of the sport’s most recognizable and popular personalities. Samuelson has remained competitive for more than three decades.
Also returning to run this year’s Boston Marathon are Greg Meyer and Amby Burfoot. Like Samuelson, Meyer will mark the 30th anniversary of his 1983 Boston Marathon victory and will also be a member of John Hancock’s Elite Athlete Team this year. A Michigan native, Meyer, 57, is the most recent American male to have won the Boston Marathon and has spent the last two years also serving as coach for Hancock’s Employee Training Team. Burfoot, 66, will mark the 45th anniversary of his Boston Marathon win this year. In 1968, Burfoot’s victory made him the Boston Marathon’s first American champion in 11 years. Burfoot was coached by the late John J. Kelley, the 1957 Boston Marathon champion and the only B.A.A. Running Club member to win the Boston Marathon. Both Meyer and Burfoot will run this year’s event with their families in celebration of their accomplishments. Meyer and Burfoot will wear bibs 1983 and 1968, respectively.
“We are honored by the presence of our past champions, and we welcome them back to Boston with great pride,” said Tom Grilk, B.A.A. Executive Director. “Winning the Boston Marathon is a career milestone that all of our champions cherish for a lifetime. They are also extremely engaging individuals who liven up any celebration that they attend, and we look forward to celebrating their achievement and showcasing them at our events throughout Boston Marathon weekend. It will be fun to have them here.”
The B.A.A. will honor Samuelson, Meyer, and Burfoot in recognition of the anniversaries of their Boston Marathon victories at its annual Champions’ Breakfast on Saturday, April 13, 2013. Jacqueline Hansen will also be recognized at the event as she marks the 40th anniversary of her 1973 victory. Hansen defeated defending champion Nina Kuscsik to become the women’s champion only one year after women were first officially allowed to compete in the Boston Marathon. As an added recognition, Hansen will serve as the honorary, official starter for the elite women’s field this Patriots’ Day.
Additionally, a pair of pioneers of women’s marathon running – Boston champions Roberta “Bobbi” Gibb and Sara Mae Berman will serve as the grand marshals for the 2013 Boston Marathon. The B.A.A. has reserved the grand marshal role as a position of recognition and honor. Gibb and Berman will ride in a Nissan pace car ahead of the lead runners, heralding to spectators along the course that thousands of runners will soon be coming.
Gibb became the first woman to run and successfully complete the Boston Marathon in 1966, six years prior to the official acceptance of female participation in the event. She won again in 1967 and 1968. Berman won from 1969 through 1971 and placed fifth in 1972, the first year of official participation for women in the Boston Marathon.
Defending champions Wesley Korir, of Kenya (men’s open race); Sharon Cherop, of Kenya (women’s open race); Joshua Cassidy, of Canada (men’s push rim wheelchair race); and Shirley Reilly, of Arizona (women’s push rim wheelchair race) will also attend the Champions’ Breakfast to officially and ceremonially receive their top-seeded bibs for the 2013 Boston Marathon as they look to defend their titles on April 15.
Many other Boston Marathon champions, legends, pioneers, and significant figures in race history will also be in town to participate in Boston Marathon weekend in a number of ways.
About the Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.)
Established in 1887 and now in its 125th Anniversary year, the Boston Athletic Association is a non-profit organization with a mission of managing athletic events and promoting a healthy lifestyle through sports, especially running. The B.A.A.’s Boston Marathon is the world’s oldest annual marathon, and the organization manages other local events and supports comprehensive charity, youth, and year-round running programs. Since 1986, the principal sponsor of the Boston Marathon has been John Hancock Financial. The Boston Marathon is part of the World Marathon Majors, along with the international marathons in Tokyo, London, Berlin, Chicago, and New York City. The 117th Boston Marathon will be held on Monday, April 15, 2013. Nearly 50,000 runners will participate in B.A.A. events in 2013.
THE RACE
After 26 seconds of silence to honor the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, the marathon got underway with 53 wheelchair competitors leaving Hopkinton. The temperature at start time was in the upper 40 °F (8–10 °C) range and rose to 54 °F (12 °C) at the finish. Hiroyuki Yamamoto of Japan aimed to make a move at the 5-kilometre (3.1 mi) mark, and at 8 miles (13 km) into the race had built up a lead of 200 yards (180 m), which he held until the end to win in a time of 1:25:32. This was the first time that Yamamoto, aged 46, had competed in the Boston Marathon. He beat South African Ernst Van Dyk by 39 seconds. In the women’s wheelchair race, Tatyana McFadden, who was also competing in the race for the first time, won in a time of 1:45:25.
In the women’s race, a small pack broke away from the main pack early on. All the runners but Yolanda Caballero dropped back to the main pack while Caballero continued on past half-way. She was eventually caught when Ana Dulce Félix increased the pace and broke away from the main pack to gain a lead of 76 seconds. She was caught in 3 miles (4.8 km) by a group comprising Jeptoo, Cherop, Hailu and Shalane Flanagan. Jeptoo managed to break away from the others after 40 kilometres (25 mi) when climbing an overpass to cross the Massachusetts Turnpike, and finished in a time of 2:26:25. She finished 33 seconds ahead of Hailu, who took second place. Cherop took third, 3 seconds behind Hailu and Flanagan finished fourth.
In the men’s race, Jason Hartmann and Fernando Cabada led during the early miles before a group of nine caught up before half-way. The pack of eleven passed half-way in a slow time of 1:04:44, before Robin Watson, Geneti, Micah Kogo, and Dickson Chumba made surges. However, it was Chumba’s surge that broke up the pack; only Desisa, Matebo Omari, Geneti, and 2009 winner Deriba Merga remained, with Gebremariam, Kogo, Raji Assefa, and Korir falling a few seconds behind.
Desisa made a surge in the 24th mile to further reduce the pack to just himself, Kogo and Gebremariam (who had both caught back on). In the final mile, Desisa was able to pull away in a sprint to win in 2:10:22. Kogo finished five seconds back in 2:10:27 and Gebremariam finished a second behind Kogo in 2:10:28, with Hartmann taking fourth, as he did in 2012.
In total, 23,336 competitors, from all 50 states plus Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico, and from 92 countries, started the marathon.
THE PRESSURE-COOKER BOMBING
At approximately 2:49 that afternoon, with more than 5,600 runners still in the race, two pressure-cooker bombs—packed with shrapnel and hidden in backpacks among crowds of marathon-watchers—exploded within seconds of each other near the finish line along Boylston Street.
The blasts instantly turned the sun-filled afternoon into a gruesome scene of bloodshed, destruction and chaos.
Three spectators died: a 23-year-old woman, a 29-year-old woman and an 8-year-old boy, while more than 260 other people were wounded. Sixteen people lost legs; the youngest amputee was a 7-year-old girl.
On April 15, 2013, double bombings near the finish line of the Boston Marathon killed three people and injured at least 264.
Facts
The bombs exploded 12 seconds apart near the marathon’s finish line on Boylston Street.
According to Richard DesLauriers, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Boston office, the bombs contained BB-like pellets and nails.
The bombs were contained in pressure cookers, hidden inside backpacks, according to the FBI.
Victims
Martin Richard, 8, a student at Neighborhood House Charter School in Boston.
Krystle Campbell, 29, of Medford, Massachusetts.
Lingzi Lu, a graduate student at Boston University. She was originally from China.
Timeline
April 15, 2013 – At approximately 2:50 p.m. ET, two bombs explode near the finish line of the Boston Marathon. The bombs explode within 8-12 seconds of each other, about 50-100 yards apart.
At 6:10 p.m. ET, President Barack Obama speaks to reporters at the White House, “We will find out who did this. We’ll find out why they did this. Any responsible individuals, any responsible groups, will feel the full weight of justice.”
April 16, 2013 – Obama, speaking at the White House, describes the bombings as an act of terrorism.
Officials confirm that there were only two bombs, despite earlier reports that other unexploded devices had been found.
Authorities, including bomb experts, search an apartment in Revere, Massachusetts, and remove items. Officials caution that there are no clear suspects and the motive remains unknown.
April 17, 2013 – A federal law enforcement official tells CNN that the lid to a pressure cooker thought to have been used in the bombings has been found on a rooftop at the scene.
Purported miscommunication between government officials lead several news organizations, including CNN, to report prematurely that a suspect has been arrested and is in custody.
April 18, 2013 – Attorney Kenneth Feinberg, an expert on victim compensation, is announced as the administrator of the One Fund Boston, a fund to assist individuals affected by the attacks.
At a press conference, the FBI releases pictures of the suspects they are seeking in connection with the bombings. The suspects are later identified as brothers, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19.
Late in the evening, Massachusetts Institute of Technology police officer Sean Collier is shot and killed on campus. Soon after, Tsarnaev brothers carjack a driver in Cambridge. The driver is released about 30 minutes later.
As the police chase them, Tamerlan Tsarnaev and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev throw explosives out the windows and exchange gunfire with officers. Tamerlan is wounded and later dies at Beth Israel Hospital. He had bullet wounds and injuries from an explosion, according to officials.
April 19, 2013 – Boston police identify the bombers as Tamerlan Tsarnaev and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, brothers from Cambridge, Massachusetts. They are of Chechen origin and legally immigrated to the United States. Tamerlan is identified as the person killed in the encounter with police while Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, a student at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth, remains at large.
Throughout the day, hundreds of law enforcement officers go door-to-door on 20 streets in Watertown, looking for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who authorities believe is still in Massachusetts. Boston-area residents are asked by authorities to stay inside as the hunt continues for Tsarnaev.
Between 6 and 7 p.m., Watertown resident David Henneberry goes out to inspect his boat soon after the lockdown is lifted, and sees “a man covered with blood under a tarp.”
8:15 p.m. – Authorities announce they have a person they believe to be Dzhokhar Tsarnaev cornered. Law enforcement agents later take Tsarnaev into custody. He is hospitalized in serious condition.
April 22, 2013 – Tsarnaev is charged with one count of using and conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction resulting in death and one count of malicious destruction of property by means of an explosive device resulting in death.
May 1, 2013 – Three 19-year-olds are arrested in connection with the bombings. The three men are accused of helping Dzhokhar Tsarnaev after the bombing. Federal prosecutors say Azamat Tazhayakov, Dias Kadyrbayev, and Robel Phillipos took items from Tsarnaev’s dorm room after the bombing to throw investigators off their friend’s trail. Tazhayakov and Kadyrbayev are foreign nationals charged with obstruction of justice. They are initially held on unrelated visa issues. Phillipos, an American citizen, is charged with lying to federal agents.
May 9, 2013 – Tamerlan Tsarnaev is buried in a Muslim cemetery in Doswell, Virginia. This is after cemeteries in Massachusetts and elsewhere refuse to allow his burial.
May 22, 2013 – An FBI agent shoots and kills Ibragim Todashev in Orlando, Florida, while questioning him about his relationship with Tamerlan Tsarnaev after cell phone records connect the two. Todashev tells the agent that Tsarnaev participated in a 2011 triple homicide that was drug-related. The confrontation between the FBI agent and Todashev turns violent after Todashev lunges at the agent with a weapon, according to a law enforcement source.
July 10, 2013 – Dzhokhar Tsarnaev pleads not guilty to 30 federal charges.
August 13, 2013 – Dias Kadyrbayev and Azamat Tazhayakov plead not guilty to conspiracy to obstruct justice and obstructing justice with intent to impede authorities.
August 19, 2013 – The testimony of the trauma surgeon who treated Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is unsealed, revealing the extent of his wounds, including multiple gun shot wounds that pierced the base of his skull, mouth and vertebrae. Unsealed documents also reveal that Tsarnaev was not read his Miranda rights until three days after he was detained.
September 13, 2013 – Phillipos pleads not guilty to making false statements to federal officials, and Kadyrbayev and Tazhayakov reenter their not guilty pleas. Tamerlan Tsarnaev’s in-laws appear before a federal grand jury in Boston. Details of the four-hour session are not immediately released.
October 21, 2013 – In a court document, prosecutors confirm that Tamerlan Tsarnaev was accused of participating in a 2011 triple homicide outside Boston.
May 30, 2014 – Authorities arrest a friend of the Tsarnaev brothers, Khairullozhon Matanov and charge him with one count of destroying, altering, and falsifying records, documents and tangible objects in a federal investigation, specifically information on his computer. He is also charged with three counts of making materially false, fictitious and fraudulent statements in a federal terrorism investigation. He later pleads guilty to misleading investigators.
August 21, 2014 – Kadyrbayev pleads guilty to obstructing justice. As part of the plea agreement, a sentence of seven years will be recommended by the US attorney, and Kadyrbayev, a Kazakh national, has agreed to be deported after serving his sentence.
October 28, 2014 – Phillipos, a friend of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, is convicted on two counts of lying to federal agents.
January 5, 2015 – Tsarnaev’s trial begins.
March 4, 2015 – Opening statements begin in Tsarnaev’s case. Testimony lasts 15 days. Over the course of the trial, prosecutors call 92 witnesses; the defense calls four.
April 8, 2015 – After deliberating 11 and a half hours, the jury returns a guilty verdict on all 30 charges.
May 15, 2015 – Tsarnaev is sentenced to death.
June 2, 2015 – Kadyrbayev, a friend of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev who pleaded guilty in August 2014, is sentenced to 72 months in prison for obstructing justice.
June 5, 2015 – Tazhayakov is sentenced to three and a half years in prison for conspiring to obstruct justice and obstructing justice with intent to impede the investigation. Phillipos is sentenced to three years in prison for making false statements to law enforcement in a terrorism investigation.
June 24, 2015 – Tsarnaev is formally sentenced to death. Addressing the court, he apologizes and admits he is guilty.
July 18, 2015 – Tsarnaev is placed in Supermax prison in Florence, Colorado, also home to inmates Ted Kaczynski, the “Unabomber,” and 9/11 co-conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui.
December 22, 2015 – Stephen Silva, the man who loaned Dzhokhar Tsarnaev the gun that was later used to kill an MIT officer, is sentenced to time served and three years supervised probation. Silva is also ordered to pay $800 in penalties.
January 15, 2016 – Tsarnaev is ordered to pay more than $101 million in restitution to victims and his request for a new trial is denied.
May 19, 2016 – Tazhayakov is released from federal prison.
February 26, 2018 – Phillipos is released from a residential re-entry program, bringing an end to his federal prison term.
August 29, 2018 – Kadyrbayev is released from federal prison and taken into ICE custody. He is deported October 23 and arrives in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on October 24.
December 27, 2018 – Attorneys for Tsarnaev appeal his death sentence, saying that Tsarnaev did not receive a fair trial. They say it should have been held outside of the city where the crime was committed.
July 31, 2020 – The appeals court vacates Tsarnaev’s death sentence and rules he should be given a new penalty trial. The court also sets aside three of his 30 convictions but maintains he will remain in federal prison for the rest of his life.
December 17, 2020 – Attorneys for Tsarnaev file an opposition brief asking the US Supreme Court not to review an earlier appellate decision to vacate his death sentence. The brief is filed in response to the US Department of Justice motion for a review of the federal appeals court decision that vacated the death penalty in July, citing jury selection issues and a failure to properly screen jurors for bias.
March 22, 2021 – The US Supreme Court agrees to review a lower court opinion that vacated Tsarnaev’s death sentence.
March 4, 2022 – The US Supreme Court upholds Tsarnaev’s death sentence in a 6-3 ruling along conservative-liberal lines.
April 18, 2022 –
April 17, 2023 – The 127th Boston Marathon will see history made. That’s what this race is about.
History and history-makers.
And heart.