2009 Boston Marathon

Patriots' Day is celebrated as an official state holiday in two states, Maine and Massachusetts, (although also observed to some extent in Wisconsin), to commemorate the Battles of Lexington and Concord in 1775. After a reenactment of the battles, the next major event of the day (before an annual Red Sox game), is the Boston Marathon. Starting in Hopkinton and ending downtown, the 26.2-mile route attracts 25,000 official runners, several "bandits", and probably a million spectators.

In addition to individual runners, there are teams of people who are sponsored by friends and associates to raise money for a number of charities. Shown above are BIDMC's Doug Horst and Ruth Bisschop, who raise money for the American Liver Foundation.

I also show a couple costumed runners and our friends Sandy and Mike Feller, offering water to runners.