371 days after the bombings of the Boston Marathon last year, the 118th Boston Marathon took place. This year’s race gained even more attention than usual due to the tragedies that cut short last year’s race. Last year, two bombs were set off near the finish line and killed 3 people and injured hundreds of others. In the wake of last year’s tragedies, the event was expected to be a big one. And with an American man taking the victory and incredible crowd support, that it was. Junior Morgan S., who watched the race through an online broadcast, said that she “had to watch the race after last year. The best part of watching was seeing how the whole community came together!” With a strong sense of community evident throughout the day, this year’s marathon was one that won’t soon be forgotten.

While some people may have been deterred by last year’s bombings, many saw it as a reason to show even more support. According to Runner’s World magazine, an estimated 1 million spectators cheered on a field on 36,000 runners. With this many people to be accounted for, eyes turned to the race committee and people began to question what security would look like. Security, wrote Scott Douglas, of Runner’s World Newswire, “was visibly increased along the route, with 3,500 uniformed police and National Guard officers and 500 plainclothes personnel.” Many runners commented on how they felt safe throughout the race. Along with increased security, other changes were made regarding bag checks and athlete transportation. This security ran smoothly and provided a safe and fun environment for runners and spectators everywhere.

One of the most surprising and memorable occurrences of the day occurred only 2 hours and 8 minutes after the elite men’s field set off, when American Meb Keflezighi approached the finish line. The crowds cheered loudly and watched him become the first American in 31 years to take the men’s title at Boston. While this was an unexpected finish for the men’s field, it was certainly gladly welcomed. Roger Robinson, of Runner’s World Magazine, wrote that Meb’s victory, “gave Boston and America the victory the whole country longed for, but scarcely dared hope for, in the most emotional and significant of all 118 Boston Marathons.” In his victory America found victory for themselves, as the nation gathered together to find strength to move on from last year.

At the end of the day, the 2014 Boston Marathon lived up to (and perhaps exceeded) all of the hype that surrounded it in the preceding weeks before race day. The race, its crowd support, and Keflezighi’s American victory all factored into the wonderful race day atmosphere that surrounded Boston this April 21st.