Run the Boston Marathon World Run & Support the City's Recovery

If you can't run this year's Boston Marathon but want to be there in spirit, check out the Boston Marathon World Run. For the first time, the Boston Athletic Association and its sponsors are encouraging runners anywhere in the world to "pledge to run, walk, or wheel any distance, and complete that distance at one time or over several weeks leading up to or on April 21."

 Join the thousands of people taking part in the Boston Marathon World Run.

Sign up and you'll bet a printable bib number and a digital finishers' medal and certificate. Registration is free, but participants are encouraged to make a donation to The One Fund Boston to aid in the city's recovery. (The One Fund was created after the marathon bombings last year to help the families most affected by the tragedy.)

It sounds like a great way to show solidarity with the Boston Marathon runners and the city, and to raise money to help in the recovery.

So far there are nearly 10,000 runners participating in the Boston Marathon World Run, representing six continents and almost 650,000 miles pledged. Participants have raised nearly $19,000 for The One Fund. See the website for more information on the run, including photos and stories of participants from all over the world (and feel free to upload your own).

I'll be running the Boston Marathon World Run on Monday, April 21st, the day of the marathon (for a yet-to-be-determined distance).

Check out the Boston Marathon website for information on the actual race, including course maps and details, qualifying times, participants, and tracking runners. This year's Boston Marathon will feature more than 36,000 participants.

2013 Boston Marathon: Searchable Results

In light of the unbelievable events that took place soon after the four-hour mark at Monday's Boston Marathon, it almost seems trivial to post results. But since thousands of people put countless hours preparing for the race (and raising money for charity), and the majority of them finished the race, here is the link to 2013 searchable Boston Marathon results.

The Boston Athletic Association placed a short message on its website (baa.org), which in part says that additional information will be provided on the organization's Facebook page, facebook.com/thebostonmarathon. Their Twitter page, twitter.com/bostonmarathon, will probably have updates tomorrow as well.

The front pages of tomorrow's papers should have featured photos and stories showing the winners:  Lelisa Desisa of Ethiopia winning the men's race in 2:10:22, and Kenya's Rita Jeptoo capturing the women's division in 2:26:25. Instead, they will be showing images of a horrific crime scene.

It's very sad to see a senseless act take attention away from a great effort by the winners. And, by the way, a very good day for American distance running. Even with some big names having to skip Boston because of injury, the U.S. had some strong top-ten finishes: Jason Hartmann fourth, Daniel Tapia ninth, and Craig Leon tenth in the men's competition, and Shalane Flanagan fourth and Kara Goucher sixth in the women's race. (See the top men's and women's finishers here.)

Let's hope that all those injured make full recoveries ... and that the people behind this atrocious crime are caught and brought to justice.