The cover of this week’s Sports Illustrated is powerful with the famed photo of marathoner Bill Iffrig collapsed on the ground, after the bomb had exploded, with Boston Police officers surrounding him.
Two things: 1. Bill never would have believed yesterday morning that he’d be on the cover of Sports Illustrated today and 2. There is no way in hell he would have ever believed the reason for him being on the cover.
The photo is powerful, iconic, and will be the lasting image from a horrible day in marathon and U.S. history.
Three people to date have died from the tragic Boston Marathon bombings. One of them was a 8-year old boy named Martin Richard (photographed above).
Martin was at the Boston Marathon with his mom, Denise, and sister to watch his father, William, finish the famed marathon. Both of them are in serious condition. His mom underwent brain surgery last night at the hospital. Martin’s sister, who is 6-years old, lost a leg in the explosion.
The family is from Dorchester, Massachusetts. WHDH also reports that Martin has a brother in the 5th grade as well. It is believed that he wasn’t at the race.
The photo above of Martin is chilling!
Our deepest and sincere thoughts and prayers go out to the Richard family.
A race official came to check on him and helped him up.
Then, accompanied by the official, Iffrig walked the last 12 feet or so across the finish line.
“I ended up second in my division,” he said. “After you’ve run 26 miles you’re not going to stop there.” His timing chip marked his finish at 4 hours, 3 minutes, 47 seconds.
However, Bill was rattled as we all would have been in that situation:
“It was a close one though, boy. I’ll tell you, that scared me.”
Bill started running in the 70’s and hasn’t slowed down. In fact he’s very fast for his age. He know’s that he is not only fast but has outlived much of his competition as well.
“Not many old guys are as fast as me.”
He reminds me of my good friend, Dallas Smith, who is 72-years old and finished 4th in his age division on this tragic day.
It’s been a day full of bad news, stories, Tweets, and updates so it’s good to read something positive today.
I’m happy that Bill is ok. I’m even happy he got off the asphalt and walked the remaining 20 feet to the finish line.
He’s tough like everyone who ran Boston today and like all of the first responders and volunteers who did an amazing job under a lot of pressure.
Bill is lucky. Our thoughts and prayers go out to those that have been wounded and to the families of those that lost someone.
You can view a GIF of the explosion that knocked Bill down at the bottom of the page by clicking HERE. (I didn’t want to repost the video or GIF again on another page. I think we’ve all been traumatized enough by it today.)
Statement from the Boston Athletic Association Monday, April 15, 2013 8:00 p.m. ET
The Boston Athletic Association extends its deepest sympathies to all those who were affected in any way by todays events.
Today is a sad day for the City of Boston, for the running community, and for all those who were here to enjoy the 117th running of the Boston Marathon. What was intended to be a day of joy and celebration quickly became a day in which running a marathon was of little importance.
We can confirm that all of the remaining runners who were out on the course when the tragic events unfolded have been returned to a community meeting area.
At this time, runners bags in Boston which remain unclaimed may be picked up by runners presenting their bib number or proof of race participation at the Castle, at 101 Arlington Street, in Boston.
At this time, we are cooperating with the City of Boston, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and all federal law enforcement officials.
We would like to thank the countless people from around the world who have reached out to support us today.
This was originally posted on the BAA’s Facebook page and you can view it HERE.
More Stories Related to the Boston Marathon Bombings:
Here is a look at the front page of newspapers from around the world in wake of the bombings that took place at the 117th Boston Marathon on April 15, 2013.
UPDATE 37: Fox News is reporting that the Boston police have arrested the suspect they believe did the Boston Marathon bombings. CNN and AP were also reporting the same thing. Other networks are saying that an arrest HAS NOT been made.
UPDATE 36: The name of the second victim killed in the blasts is Krystle Campbell from Arlington, Massachusetts according to CNN.
UPDATE 35: Investigators found circuit board believed used to trigger marathon bombs per Boston Globe.
UPDATE 33: Photo of 8-year old Martin Richard who was killed in the Boston Marathon bombings. Pray for his family! His sister lost a leg as well and his mom has a brain injury.
UPDATE 32: Ed Davis: “176 is the best number I have right now, 17 of them are critical, 3 have died.” [via Huff Po]
UPDATE 31: U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel calls bombings ‘cruel act of terror’ per AP.
UPDATE 30: President Obama: Not known whether Boston bombings an act of an organization or an individual [CNN]
Pope Francis offers prayers for all Bostonians (story).
UPDATE 29: The Boston Celtics game against the Indiana Pacers for Tuesday night has been cancelled (NOT POSTPONED) and will not be made up per ESPN.
UPDATE 28: Three deaths are too many but the good news is that number has not risen in the past few hours.
UPDATE 27: Keep passing this story around on Facebook and Twitter: FULL STORY It’s a good story from a very bad day in Boston. Keep sending good thoughts and prayers to those impacted directly by today.
Several reports of this or that regarding the investigation into the bombing suspects floating around at the moment. Nothing that I think is link worthy at the moment.
UPDATE 26: Report (updated): 23,326 started, 17,584 finished, 4,496 made it to 40k but never crossed the finish line, and 1,246 never made it to 40k. (via @flotrack)
UPDATE 25: The man who went crumbled to the ground in the bombing video? His name is Bill Iffrig and he’s ok. He’s 78-years young. He dusted himself off and finished the remaining 20 feet to the finish line where he placed second place in his age division. (FULL STORY)
UPDATE 22: Reports that more undetonated devices are being found in packages near marathon route. Officials are going to scour the entire 26.2 mile route with bomb sniffing dogs to try to find any bombs and info.
UPDATE 11: Via ESPN’s Darren Rovell: The avg Boston finish time (when the most people are crossing) was 4:18 last year. Explosion went off at 4:09:40. Most people in area.
UPDATE 8: Third explosion at the JFK Library just confirmed by Boston Police during their press conference.
UPDATE 7: There are many updates I could post from what I’m hearing from the local hospitals. You can easily read them on Twitter and one in particular from Darren Rovell. I’ll just say there is no good news coming from the hospitals in Boston. Many victims including both runners and spectators. Hopefully most will survive and live but their lives won’t ever be the same.
UPDATE 6: The Boston Globe is reporting 2 dead with up to 64 wounded.
UPDATE 5: NY Post reporting, “Authorities have a identified a suspect, who is currently being guarded in a Boston hospital with shrapnel wounds.”
UPDATE 4: Reports are claiming that a 3rd explosive device was found…undetonated.
UPDATE 3: Boston police confirming 2 are dead and at least 22 are wounded.
Ethipian Lelisa Desisa won the 117th Boston Marathon minutes ago with a late kick to beat Micah Kogo and Gebre Gebremariam with a finishing time of 2:10:22.
Kenya’s Rita Jeptoo came from behind, making up a large gap behind Columbia’s Caballero, to win the 2013 Boston Marathon for the women. It is her second Boston Marathon win. The first coming back in 2006.
3:07pm – OH NO! There has been two explosions reported at the finish line of the Boston Marathon. THE RACE HAS BEEN STOPPED! Let’s pray for everyone out there.
2:42pm – Run It Fast – Club Member David Wingard finishes the Boston Marathon in 3:58:37. Congrats to RIF David on his impressive day in Bean Town.
2:21pm – Run It Fast – Club Member Dallas ‘Diamond D’ Smith finishes the Boston Marathon in 3:39:08 and finishes fourth place in his age division. Not bad for a 72 year old at Boston. #RunItFast – Read his books!
2:03pm – Run It Fast – Club Member Michelle ‘Mom of 6’ Walker finishes her first Boston Marathon in 3:36:58. Congrats to Ms. Brady.
1:30pm – Run It Fast – Club Member Steven ‘Thunder’ Lee has finished the 2013 Boston Marathon in 3:23:44. Congrats to Steven and Nadia.
1:29pm – Run It Fast – Club Member Nadia Ruiz has finished the 2013 Boston Marathon in 3:21:17 which is just a couple minutes off her PR.
1:26pm – RIF UPDATES: Kerri Haskins 2:29:17-Half, David Wingard 2:14:22-25k, Nadia Ruiz 3:10:31-40k, Kathleen Shirley 2:21:30-25k, Kenneth Williams 2:23:41-25k, Diane Bolton 2:35:06-25k, Dallas Smith 2:28:17-30k, Chuck Engle finished 2:55:55
1:18pm – Run It Fast – Club Member JD Leman finishes the 2013 Boston Marathon in 3:14:29. Congrats to JD on a speedy run.
1:15pm – Run It Fast – Dallas Smith has reached the 30k mark in 2:28:17 which has the 73 year old on pace for a 3:28 finish.
1:09pm – Blister In the Sun (BITS) race director Josh Hite finishes the 2013 Boston Marathon in 3:03:57. Where will his partner in crime, RIF’er Dallas Smith, land? Will Dallas win his age division this year after two second place finishes. Dallas is 73 and FAST. He’s also written a couple of great books of running stories, ‘Going Down Slow,’ and ‘Falling Forward.’
12:57pm – Run It Fast – Club member Chuck ‘Marathonjunkie’ Engle has finished the Boston Marathon in 2:55:56. Great run for the marathon legend who has over 250 marathon wins to his name. #RunMore #RunItFast
12:48pm – Great day of really amazing performances at Boston. The women were amazing. It was the Ana Dulce Felix show early on as she opened up a big lead after Caballero, from Columbia, blistered the early miles. Rita Jeptoo’s experience was too much though as she came on strong to win her second Boston Marathon in dominating fashion.
12:40pm – Run It Fast – Club Updates: Dallas Smith 1:43:11-Half, Michelle Walker 2:04:57-25k, Chuck Engle 2:22:30-35k, Diane Bolton 1:34:14-15k, Kenneth ‘Marathon Koach’ Williams 1:53:28-20k, Kathleen Shirley 1:52:06-20k, Steven Lee 46:27-10k, Nadia Ruiz 2:20:08-30k, JD Leman 2:37:08-35k, Kerri Haskins 1:42:53-Half, David Wingard 1:52:29-Half.
12:30pm – More updates to come very shortly as we’ll track Run It Fast – Clubbers to the finish.
12:23pm – Top 10 American Finishes: Men – 4. Jason Hartmann 2:12:12, 9. Daniel Tapia 2:14:30, 10. Craig Leon 2:14:38. Women – 4. Shalane Flanagan 2:27:08, 6. Kara Goucher 2:28:11
12:13pm – Second place goes to Micah Koga (ETH) and third goes to the great Gebre Gebremariam (KEN). Jason Hartmann (USA) will take 4th place. A repeat performance for him last year. Very well done by all.
12:12pm – Ethiopia’s Lelisa Desisa WINS the 2013 BOSTON MARATHON in 2:10:23
12:09pm – It’s going to be either Gebre, Desisa or Micah Kogo. Desisa looks to be the strongest.
12:08pm – Less than 1 mile to go.
12:07pm – American Kara Goucher finished 6th place.
12:06pm – Three men in the fight for the win. It’s going to be an epic finish.
12:00pm – Shalane Flanagan (USA) finishes in 4th. Third went to Sharon Cherop, second to Meseret Hailu.
11:58am – 400 meters to go for the women and Rita Jeptoo is going to WIN the 2013 BOSTON MARATHON!!
11:56am – Men: Lead pack down to just 4 that includes Gebre and Wesley Korir.
11:54am – Women: Flanagan is seven seconds behind the lead three, Jeptoo, Sharon Cherop (KEN) and Meseret Hailu Debele (KEN), at mile 24 at 2:15.15.
11:52am – “These men up front have great speed!” – TV commentator…DUH!
11:47am – Felix has been overtaken. Rita Jeptoo (KEN) has taken the lead. Jeptoo won Boston back in 2006 (a lifetime ago for an elite marathoner).
11:45am – American Shalane Flanagan is up to third place about a minute behind the leader…and gaining. 5k remaining for the women.
11:44am – Ana Felix still with a healthy lead but the pack is starting to make up ground on her. They have about 20 minutes to catch her. Lead down to about 30 seconds.
11:40am – Run It Fast – Club member updates: Dallas Smith 48:53-10k, Michelle ‘Mom of 6’ Walker 1:14:36-15k, Chuck ‘Marathonjunkie’ Engle 1:36:23-25k, Kenneth Williams 56:20-10k, Kathleen Shirley 55:13-10k, Steven Lee 46:27-10k, Nadia Ruiz 1:31:53-20k.
11:39am – Men: 30K, Chumba (KEN) leads 1:32:42, Desisa (ETH), Gebremariam (ETH), Matebo (KEN), Kogo (KEN) and Merga (ETH) round out lead pack (via @BostonMarathon)
11:36am – Women: Felix hits mile 21 in 1:58:31. She is up by nearly 80 seconds and beating the metro train down the road.
11:34am – The massive elite male pack has exploded like a Roman Candle with the American Hartmann and Canadian Watson left in the residue, running on fumes.
11:32am – 10k left for Ana Dulce Felix and the win. Can she hold on? She’s looking strong.
11:30am – Elite men at mile 16 via Run It Fast – Clubber @RunKino
11:29am – 23,181 runners started today.
11:26am – The men fall back into one happy back that includes Watson and Hartmann who got a quick boost from a Baconator from a fan. 2:09 pace for the pack.
11:25am – 30k Women Splits: 1. Ana Dulce Felix 1:44:56, 2. Yolanda Caballero 1:46:04, 3. Sharon Cherop 1:46:11, 4. Rita Jeptoo 1:46:11, 5. Tirfi Tsegaye 1:46:11 (several others)
11:22am – “The Canadian has been reeled in!” No word yet with what they’ll do with him. And the American Hartman has been “Spit out the back of the pack!”
11:20am – A Canadian hasn’t won Boston since 1977. Watson’s secret? At the water stations he is grabbing sno cones from his handlers instead of water.
11:18am – Men: A Canadian (Watson) is now leading the pack. No, that is not predictions for the 2014 Oscars. Watson 1:14:29 at 15 miles.
11:13am – The elite men continue to run this race like women at the club go to the bathroom….in a pack.
11:12am – Women: Felix now has a 23 second lead on Caballero and probably 45-60 seconds on the rest of the pack.
11:11am – The elite men continue to be bundled together. About 10 people in that bundle at the moment. Jason Hartmann still is included in that group.
11:08am – Tatyana McFadden (Clarksville, Md.) has officially won the 2013 Boston Marathon Female Wheelchar in 1:45.25. (via @BostonMarathon)
11:07am – Ana Dulce Felix looks like a strong thoroughbred as she is leaving all the other women behind her.
11:05am – Ana Dulce Felix has blown past Caballero however at the 25k split it was still Caballero with the lead, followed by Felix and Mockenhaupt.
11:04am – Women: Felix is close to tracking down Caballero. Both women are a good bit ahead of the rest of the pack. This has been an impressive kick by Felix to make up a 30 second gap. Will this kick drain too much from Felix or deflate Caballero? That’s the beauty of the sport. This race still has a long way to go to decide just that.
10:59am – Run It Fast – Club Member checkin: Chuck Marathonjunkie Engle hit 15k in 56:26, Josh Hite 10k in 43:28, Steven Lee 10k in 46:27, Nadia Ruiz 10k in 45:35
10:57am – Dulce Felix has left the pack and is trying to chase down Caballero. Admire the heart, question the decision though. She might believe she won’t have a chance to win unless she makes up some of the gap now, but she’s aiming for Caballero.
10:55am – 15k split for elite men: 1. Gebre (ETH) 45:50, 2. Wesley Korir (KEN) 45:51, 3. Raji Assefa (ETH) 45:51 – lead back has about 10 men with about the same time.
10:52am – Caballero’s husband was her coach. He died two years ago from an unfortunate stroke. She is the likely fan favorite. We are pulling for her. It would be quite the story if she could pull off the unthinkable today. She still has a 32 second lead 23k into the race.
10:50am – 2:28 pace for the women. They started really slow but have really heated up over the last 5 miles.
10:49am – 20k split for the women: 1. Caballero (Columbia) 1:10:16, 2. Mockenhaupt 1:10:40, 3. Felix 1:10:41.
10:47am – Caballero now with a massive 32 second lead on the other elite women. Something must be in the ummmm coffee down there.
10:38am – 10k splits for elite men: 1. Markos Geneti (ETH) 30:53, 2. Gebre (ETH) 30:53, 3. Deriba Merga (ETH) – 30:54. I really wish the Ethiopians would show up today. American Jaston Hartmann is in 10th place 2 seconds back.
10:36am – And in snark fairness. How do the elite men not get lost during a marathon without a map? Oh snap. I get it. That’s why they let the women go first so they can follow and know the route.
10:36am – The women are running all over the road. Spread out wide on all sides of the road. It’s almost as if they are in their cars driving!
10:34am – American Shalane Flanagan is in 6th place. Just a few seconds behind the top 3.
10:32am – 15k splits for leading women: 1. Diana Sigei (Kenya) 53:04, 2. Yolanda Caballero (Columbia), 3. Rita Jeptoo (Kenya). Sigei’s PR is 2:26
10:31am – Brenda Martinez is a very fast American woman 1-miler. She smoked that race.
10:30am – ALERT the authorities! One of the runners is riding a motorcycle amongst the elite pack! Making the Tour de France look legit and tame.
10:26am – Several corrals of weekend warriors have started as well at this point. Good luck to all of the Run It Fast – Club members out there today (VIEW LIST HERE).
10:25am – Jason Hartmann’s ‘uniform’ is so devoid of sponsors. He looks like a runner out for a jog down the street. Get Arlis on the line. We need to get some Run It Fast on his singlet and dukes.
10:22am – 4 mile split for the men is 19:57.
10:19am – Do you think there is animosity among the elite women between the women that expose their midriffs vs those that keep them covered during the race? You know how women be!! Think I just overheard one of the elite women with the ‘bikini’ top call another elite women with a traditional singlet, “Chunky Spice!!”
10:16am – 2:11 marathon pace for the men to this point. That will likely increase once they pick up some Gummy Bears at the next water station.
10:13am – Slow pace for the women at this point. Bobby Griggs found smiling in his grave.
10:10am – Four women and three men have separated themselves from the rest of the elite pack. Which of course means nothing this early on. Naturally, the American is one of those three out there early with Rocky blasting in his headphones. Men just hit the 2 mile mark.
10:07am – W: Felix (POR) and Mockenhaupt (GER) continue to lead through mile five with a split of 5:39. Total time 28:59. (via @BostonMarathon)
10:04am – Most popular singlet color for the elite men is YELLOW! They likely got them on discount at Armstrong’s garage sale! More common today on the elite men than sweatpants on women at the airport.
American Jason Hartmann looks tall and strong early on.
10:00am – AND THE ELITE MEN ARE OFF!
9:55am – Current women’s leaderboard through 3.1 miles: 1. Mockenhaupt (18:23), 2. Caballero, 3. Felix, 4. Yano.
9:50am – Don’t forget to tag your Boston Marathon photos and all running photos on Instagram with the hashtag #runitfast for possible featured repost and Likes!
9:48am – Women: Manami Kamitanida (JPN) and Yolanda Caballero (COL) lead the elite field through two miles in 11:54. Split time is 5:50. (via @BostonMarathon)
9:44am – MC: At the 10K mark, Hiroyuki Yamamoto leads the men’s pushrim wheelchair field by 100 yards! via @BostonMarathon
