April 21, 2014 - In the right place at the right time: How a race I had given up on became a reality.

Dennis Lebman

Running in the Boston Marathon for me was supposed to be a one and done deal: A bucket list item, a goal I set to celebrate turning 50 last year. Boston for long distance runners is the "Super Bowl" of marathons. You have to have a qualifying time on a certified marathon course to gain entry, or raise a lot of money for a charity. I got my qualifier "BQ" for the 2013 Boston Marathon in May of 2012 at the Ojai to Ocean Marathon with a time of 3:29:38 which was a BQ by only :22. Everyone who wanted to run the 2013 Boston Marathon and had a qualifying time was able to register and get accepted within the first few weeks of registration.

Four weeks before Boston last year I ran the 2013 LA Marathon and I got another BQ I could use for the 2014 Boston Marathon. My time was the exact same - 3:29:38. I hadn't really considered running Boston a second time, as I was focused on my upcoming trip and my first Boston.

April 15, 2013 – “I was overwhelmed with excitement, telling myself I was here, running the BOSTON MARATHON!”

Dennis Lebman

When I first started running in Sept 2010, I never could have dreamed I would ever run in the Boston Marathon. In November 2010, I ran my first race the Santa Clarita Half Marathon and I remember at the turn off from the South Fork Trail onto the two bridges where the half and full split off, thinking no way could I double that distance. I had a hard enough time trying to stay ahead of the guy with the balloons who was pacing the four hour group and two hour half. But it was my sister who quickly had me change my mind to run a full at the 2011 LA Marathon.

I finished my first marathon in 3:35:08 in the pouring rain. It wasn't until then I found out I was five minutes and eight seconds from qualifying for Boston. It was also then I realized that maybe, just maybe, it was possible. It was around that time I found out that the qualifying standards would become harder. But fortunately for me I would be turning 50 in February of 2013, and the same sub 3:30 BQ would remain for me: I set a goal to run the 2013 Boston Marathon to celebrate the milestone of turning 50. But it wasn't as simple as I first thought as I failed to BQ in my next two attempts at the 2011 Santa Clarita Marathon and at the 2012 LA Marathon.

2013 - "Residents came out of their houses with food and water, offering any kind of aid they could."

Tim Zuelke

I am not sure I can put into words what we are feeling and what yesterday, April 15th, 2013, was like, but I will try.

I was at the front of the group of runners police stopped within half a mile of the finish line soon after the bombs went off.

Officials held us there for about 40 minutes. We did not know what was happening and many of the runners started to suffer from the effects of stopping without water or medical aid, myself included.

Finally the officers realized that 2,000 people standing in such a small area was also a possible target. We were told to disperse, which was not easy to do. Where were we to go, anyway? A nurse who was running the marathon was standing next to me. I was so cold and shaking. She said my lips were turning blue and I should find some first aid as soon as possible. I tried to make my way back to our hotel, but the streets were all blocked off as a crime scene.

2013 - A lifetime's worth of tragedy in the span of 20 minutes.

Brian Carroll

Accompanied by cooler temperatures, race day started with promise and enthusiasm. The starting line was abuzz with talk of PR's and possible personal Boston bests. A trend of new PR's was also evidenced by the too-many-to-count runners who scanned their wristwatches while covering the last five miles. I crossed the finish line at 2:45 pm with a face smiling and a 3:57:33 time.

Taking a picture with my wife next to the medical tent is a tradition unlike any other in my family. Joy, love, sweat, and then "BANG!" Only five minutes after the finish, the heaven turned to hell. “Maybe a cannon,” I first thought...but I know I would have noticed one next to the finish line, and I thought the sound was odd. No, this was bad. The second "BOOM" confirmed bad had gone to worse.

2013 - I will not let cowards prevail over what turned out to be my most complete marathon yet.

Ty Godwin

At the onset of my running career (wouldn’t that be great if it was a career?) at the age of 40, I had never run before in my life. There was no cross-country or track team for me growing up. In fact, I was diagnosed with Ankylosing Spondylitis in Junior High and would come in “dead last” in P.E. class when we would have to run around the baseball field.

Going through some major life changes at the age of 40, I took up running, mainly running for health reasons, doing an occasional 5k. I didn’t attempt a marathon until after my wife bought me Hal Higdon’s book, and I decided to race the San Diego Rock and Roll Marathon in 2007. I didn’t know any better and decided I wanted to qualify for the Boston Marathon. Part ambition and part naivety.