God Bless the Brits … Runners in Sunday’s London Marathon Show Support For the City of Boston, the Victims of the Bombing at the Boston Marathon

A special shout out to our friend across The Pond. God bless the Brits and their much appreciated remembrance and support honoring of the city of Boston, the victims of the Boston bombing and the Boston Marathon. The London Marathon took place Sunday without incident, thank God. As reported at the NY Times, 6 days and 3,300 miles from the bombings in Boston, the London Marathon was held Sunday, but it was obvious there was a connection between the two events as the people of London paid respect to those affected and the victims in the Boston marathon bombings. It is a blessing how sports can bring people and countries together. If the terrorists ever thought they would alter our lives and make us live in fear, they could never have been more wrong. You have only made us stronger.

A special shout out back to the Brits for the kindness and support you showed the victims of the Boston Marathon bombings

At the start of the race, the runner at the London Marathon paid tribute to victims of the Boston Marathon attack by observing a 30-second moment if silence before the elite men’s race and mass start. As one individual tweeted, over 37,000 runners and all of the spectators bowed their heads in collective absolute silence (see video here) as they paid respect to the victims and Boston. Simply breathtaking and respectful. The London Marathon officials also pledged to donate £2 for every finisher to The One Fund Boston, a charity set up to help victims of the Boston marathon bombings. By race end this will probably amount to about £70,000 – over $100,000, that will be raised.

London Marathon Pays respect to the Victims of the Boston Marathon Bombings

Geoff Wightman, the event commentator, announced over loudspeakers before the half-minute silence:

“Marathon-running is a global sport. It unites runners and supporters on every continent in pursuit of a common challenge and in the spirit of friendship and fellowship.

“This week the world marathon family was shocked and saddened by the events at the Boston Marathon. In a few moments a whistle will sound and we will join together in silence to remember our friends and colleagues for whom a day of joy turned into a day of sadness.

“Let us now show our respect and support for the victims of the tragedy in Boston.”

Andrew Kaczynski of Buzz Feed has 25 of the best pictures from the marathon. We have provided a couple that we thought were the best, but please go to Buzz Feed and see them all, they are fantastic.

Our favorite for obvious reasons … fellow UK Monkeys telling terrorist exactly what they can do

More from Buzz Feed, many of the runners in the London Marathon dedicated their race to the victims of the Boston bombing attack and showed that they were “British Strong” in coming out for the London Marathon and do our bit and show a bit of solidarity and also show that we’re not going to cower with fear to terrorism.

A number of athletes dedicated their races to those affected by the Boston attack. American wheelchair racer Tatyana McFadden was in her hotel room after winning the women’s race when the two bombs went off on the finish line.

“I’ll be carrying them in my heart as I am running through the course in London,” she said. “It’s important as an elite runner with a disability to be a role model for those who are newly injured and it’s important for me to be an advocate for those. I’ve lived with many challenges in my life, every single day and so I know something of what it’s like.”

Another competitor was former England cricket captain Andrew Strauss, who said he wanted to represent the people of Boston and prove that “terrorism doesn’t work”. He told the BBC:

“It’s a horrendous tragedy and I think this is an opportunity for all of us that are involved in the London Marathon to come out and do our bit and show a bit of solidarity and also show that we’re not going to cower with fear.”