Thousands Of Runners Celebrate Finishing Virtual 2020 Boston Marathon
BOSTON (CBS) - Four months after the traditional running of the 124th Boston Marathon was canceled; thousands of runners finished the race -- virtually. The Boston Athletic Association says since September 5th, more than 15,000 runners, from 90 countries, and every state in the nation, completed the Boston Marathon.
"Our mission at the B.A.A since 1887 has been to support health and fitness. And to be able to do that is a privilege. And to be able to do that in a different way this year is sort of exciting," said the association's CEO Tom Grilk, from the Mile 27 post-race party, hosted virtually at Fenway Park.
Runners registered for the virtual race signed up to finish the 26.2 miles in one day. Submissions on social media showed finishers celebrating the accomplishment in their own neighborhoods, alongside their family and friends. Governor Charlie Baker attended the virtual celebration at Fenway and called the feat remarkable.
"This race this year has in fact been what it has been always. The lemonade out of the lemons here is special. We have thousands of people who ran, who committed to causes in many cases that they believed in. The Red Cross had spectacular blood drives," Baker said. "Food pantries and food banks benefited tremendously from the volunteer work that was done. This has turned out to be a spectacularly positive event."
