Even on a cool, rainy Marathon Monday, a beautiful scene played out in Copley Square as 30,239 runners from all over the country and world finished their 26.2-mile run from Hopkinton.
Hugs, smiles, fist pumps and loud cheers rang out as weary runners who had endured the course crossed the finish line, joyous, haggard, and grateful, one after another.
But for Henry Richard, who’s younger brother Martin was killed and sister Jane lost a leg in the terrorist bombing of the marathon ten years ago, Monday’s race brought a special joy.
“It’s a beautiful thing seeing familiar faces, new faces come out, run under Martin, just unify as one,” Richard said. “No matter what we do in the future, we are going to keep doing that.”
On Monday, Richard crossed the finish line with a group of friends who ran with him as members of Team MR8, raising funds for the Martin Richard Foundation, which his parents Denise and Bill created within a year of the tragedy to help turn pain into healing.
Former Bruins captain and 2011 Stanley Cup champion Zdeno Chara competed in his first Boston Marathon in the community he said he’s happy to remain a part of even after his playing days are over.
Chara and his 2013 Bruins teammates played in the first game in Boston following the tragedy, just two days after the horrific event. After a touching tribute showing pictures of heroic acts – first responders running toward fire and people uninjured helping those physically harmed – Bruins fans sang the national anthem on their own.
“It was one of the biggest tragedies the city has had,” Chara said minutes after crossing the finish line in 3 hours 38 minutes and 23 seconds, “but one of the biggest moments that people came together and supported each other. Ten years later, it’s something that everyone could look back on and be very happy with how the city responded.”
Runners who came to the city from afar said the 127th Marathon provided an emotional touch from previous ones they have entered.
Brent Carson, a resident of Richmond, Va., clocked a finishing time of 2 hours 49 minutes and 20 seconds.
“I could really feel the emotion coming down that street,” he said as he wrapped himself in a second layer of foil to keep warm, “not only happy thoughts but sad thoughts.”
Former Red Sox player Brock Holt and his wife Lakyn ran Boston for the first time, supporting the Jimmy Fund. Holt helped guide the Sox to World Series championships in 2013, a team known for rallying the city together, and then again in 2018.
“We love Boston, everything about it,” Holt said. “We built so many relationships through the Jimmy Fund, and when I decided I wasn’t going to play (we were like) ‘Let’s do something good, raise some money and stay involved.”
Running in her second Boston Marathon, Gretchen Stevenson, of Lancaster, PA, said she definitely felt a sense of ‘Boston Strong’ when she ran down Boylston Street.
“The energy is always amazing out there,” she said, “the crowds get you pumped up. The hills are tough, but once you cross that last hill – Heartbreak Hill – it’s ‘Just go.’”
Watertown native James Garbier, 26, said Boston this weekend once again proved how it has a “neighborhood” feel as it came together not just on Monday but also on Saturday for a remembrance of the 2013 bombings.
Garbier remembers being in lockdown with his family during the manhunt for bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who was captured hiding in a boat in a resident’s backyard.
“It’s really special,” he said. “I’ve run a bunch of marathons, but I don’t think any of them really compare to Boston, even the big ones. The people here and the crowd are just really special.”
