Pres Obama: "Boston is a tough, resilient town and so are its people."

[sheshe2]

2. Thank you Cha, we are resilient here, Our President said that!

I already posted these pictures to you, however they fit here.





This is the true spirit of Boston. People from all over the world came to Boston today. We rejoice in our Freedom on Patriots Day, we applaud the tenacity of those that compete in a grueling race.

We are and will always be the Spirit of Boston.

On April 19, 1897, John J. McDermott of New York won the first Boston Marathon with a time of 2:55:10.

The Boston Marathon was the brainchild of Boston Athletic Association member and inaugural U.S. Olympic team manager John Graham, who was inspired by the marathon at the first modern Olympic Games in Athens in 1896. With the assistance of Boston businessman Herbert H. Holton, various routes were considered, before a measured distance of 24.5 miles from the Irvington Oval in Boston to Metcalf's Mill in Ashland was eventually selected.

Fifteen runners started the race but only 10 made it to the finish line. John J. McDermott, representing the Pastime Athletic Club of New York City, took the lead from Harvard athlete Dick Grant over the hills in Newton. Although he walked several times during the final miles, McDermott still won by a comfortable six-minute, fifty-two-seconds. McDermott had won the only other marathon on U.S. soil the previous October in New York.

The marathon's distance was changed in 1908 in accordance with Olympic standards to its current length of 26 miles 385 yards.

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/first-boston-marathon-held