Spring Time on Comm Ave

Boston Marathon - "The Crowd"

Some shots of the half a million spectators that came to the race. 

Boston Marathon - Bodies in Motion

Every year on Patriot's Day, the Boston Marathon descends upon the city of Boston. It began in 1897 and was inspired by the first modern day marathon in the 1896 olympics. The Boston Marathon is the oldest annual marathon in the world. Each year, it attracts among half a million spectators that line the streets from Hopkinton to downtown Boston.

This was my first year attending the event (even though I had lived in Boston for the past 6 years). I'm glad I went, because it was inspring to watch the competitors. They were pouring their heart and soul into it and you could see the determination in their faces. This year was an incredibly difficult marathon since the temperature was 95+ degrees by noon. The marathon organizers were actually encouraging people not to run this year (postpone until next year). As far as I know, they had never offered this before.

I have to say that the most inspiring thing I saw is when someone collapsed 30 meters from the finish line. The person's body just stopped working. He tried getting up, but couldn't. Two runners behind him stopped when they saw this and actually carried the guy across the finish line (the crowd erupted with applause and cheering).

Congrats to all the runners!

The 1st and 2nd place winners for women.

The men's winner.

Post race exhaustion.

"In Bloom" at Comm Ave Mall

The Commonwealth Avenue Mall in Boston's Back Bay is a great place to go for a stroll during the spring or fall months. The "Mall" acts as a median between two streams of traffic and has a pathway that goes through the middle of it. Both sides of the pathway are lined with beautifully constructed buildings. Yes, they don't have parking, have small rooms, poor plumbing, floors that "creak", were built over 100 years ago, and are extremely expensive... but their character & history makes it worth it. Outside of the buildings are trees that have probably been there for almost as long as the buildings themselves... and during the spring each year, giant flowers bloom from their branches. These are a few pictures I took while going for a walk.