Bombing Survivor Patrick Downes Finishes 120th Boston Marathon

BOSTON (CBS) -- Three years after losing a leg in the Boston Marathon bombings, survivor Patrick Downes completed the 120th running of the race on his prosthetic leg.

"I ran with the city in my heart," he told WBZ-TV's Steve Burton in an emotional interview after his finish, before adding that he was also thinking of bombing victims Martin Richard, Lingzi Lu, and Krystle Campbell, as well as Officer Sean Collier.

Downes completed the marathon with a finish time of 05:56:46. He crossed the finish line at 2:49 p.m.--the time the first bomb exploded at the finish line in 2013--and hugged his wife and fellow bombing survivor Jessica Kensky.

"I don't have words for it," Downes said. "From the get-go, people were just on our side, and that's been the case ever since April 15, 2013."

Downes said he "just exercised for a few hours," and his wife was doing the real hard work.

"While I think Marathons are incredible things, it's nothing compared to what Jess has been through the last three years," he said. "I'm so proud of the way she's pushed through all the setbacks that she's had."

Kensky said she "chose right" when she married Downes.

"Neither of us would be here if it wasn't for the support and love of Boston, and our friends and our family and really the whole country," said Kensky.

Downes was running this year to endow the Boston College Strong Scholarship at his alma mater, to be given to a student with a physical disability.

Patrick and his team need to raise $250,000 in order to fully endow the BC Strong scholarship at Boston College. If you'd like to contribute to the scholarship fund go to www.bc.edu/bcstrong.

Adrianne Haslet, a professional dancer who lost a leg in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings, also finished the marathon.