Today is the start of the third week of the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. If I had scheduled this post to run before we left for New York City yesterday, this would have been a very different post. While our family enjoyed a mini-vacation, a tragedy occurred in our home state of Massachusetts. Two bombs were set off during the Boston Marathon. So far, two are confirmed dead (one of them a child) and dozens were injured. In honor of the victims and their families, I offer this post on the history of the Boston Marathon.
The Boston Marathon is the oldest annual marathon in the world. The first Boston Marathon took place in 1897, inspired by the Olympics of the previous year. It coincides with Patriots' Day each year. Patriots' Day is a statewide holiday that commemorates the opening battle of the American Revolutionary War on April 19, 1775. While the Boston Marathon started out as a local event, it now attracts competitors and spectators from around the world. More than 22,000 participants signed up for the 2012 Boston Marathon. Over 24,000 participants started off at Hopkinton this year. The 26.2 mile current route can be seen here.
Latest news reports state the White House believes today's bombing was an act of terrorism, but no one is claiming responsibility, and it is not known if the attack came from a foreign entity or is home-grown terrorism.
My prayers go out to all who have been affected by today's events.
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