For those who know of the first marathon, it started when a Greek soldier was trying to get a message to Athens during a great war. Today, a marathon has changed to a more relaxed version of its past self. However, it seems that Boston was met with a marathon similar to the very first.

On April 15th, 2013 — a year ago this coming Tuesday — Boston was having its 117th running of the Boston Marathon which stretches 42,195 meters and draws hundreds of thousands of spectators. The marathon was on schedule until 2:50 p.m. when a bomb exploded less than half a block away from the finish line. Roughly 12 seconds after the first, a second erupted only 600 feet away and the marathon became a small war zone.

A medical tent, used for dehydrated runners, became an emergency medical facility holding about 260 patients as well as the bodies of Martin Richard, Lu Lingzi, Krystle Campbell and officer Sean Collier.

Through the confusion, Tamerlan Tsarnaev and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, perpetrators of the crime, escaped.

At first, their identities were unknown, but after officers found videos and photos of them leaving the scene, Tamerlan and Dzhokhar were the top suspects.

As the hunt for them continued, Tamerlan was said to have been wounded by the bomb and multiple gunshot wounds and died shortly after the images were released.

With Dzhokhar still at large, police went on a house-to-house manhunt on April 19th. That evening Dzhokhar was found in a boat in a residential back yard and now faces charges for using a weapon of mass destruction as well as being put on death row.

After all the mishaps and manhunts, the many survivors of this tragic day have continued their lives with a better outlook. Jeff Bauman, who lost both his legs in the bombing, is moving on with life as planned. He and his girlfriend are engaged to be married next year and are expecting a newborn in July.

Sydney Corcoran, who suffered from severe injuries, was worried about her prom and whether she was going to be able to go and spend time with her friends. With finishing her treatments and rehabs, she was able to go to her prom and was surprisingly crowned prom queen.

Lastly, Norden brothers JP and Paul were deemed wheel chaired after the bombing when the bombs crippled them. Today, they hang their heads high as they raise awareness on their Facebook page and spread the word of what is means to be standing Boston strong.

With the many survivor stories that sweep America, there is still great sorrow for those who were lost. In their memory, as well as those who survived, the Boston Public Library will being holding an exhibit in their honor.

This exhibit will be filled with signs that commemorate the event, a centerpiece memorial for those who were lost, and several running shoes donated by those who survived. It will also be in a catalog called “Our Marathon” which was created by Northeastern University and involves 18,000 cards addressed to the mayor’s office over the marathon.

With the many losses that came with the marathon, it is eager to feel hatred toward Dzhokhar. However, we should not use our feelings toward the hatred of him, but reverse them to honor the one year anniversary of the bombing and the many survivors whose stories are both inspirational and empowering. We should also give our condolences toward those lost as well as think about what it really means to be standing Boston strong.

Boston bombing anniversary

April 14, 2014

• Boston University will hold a memorial service in Marsh Chapel for Lingzi Lu. The University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth, where bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was a student, will dedicate the week to civic engagement, including a campus wide vigil for bombing victims.

April 15, 2014

• A tribute will be held at the Hynes Convention Center. Gov. Deval Patrick, Mayor Marty Walsh and other speakers will honor the four killed as well as the hundreds injured, first responders and health care workers.
• 2:49p.m -Attendees will walk to the marathon finish line for a flag-raising ceremony and a moment of silence.

April 21, 2014

• 8:50a.m –The marathon will begin in Hopkinton, MA