Boston Marathon Memorial
Boston Marathon Memorial in Copley Square
The Boston Marathon is oldest and one of the most known marathon. Many runners set goals to one day run the Boston Marathon.
In Copley Square, there is a monument to all those that run the Boston Marathon.
Nine Things I learned about the Boston Marathon Monument
- Ground breaking was on November 2, 1995
- The monument was revealed in time for the 100th Anniversary of the Boston Marathon. There is an inscription that mentions the 100th Running of the Boston Marathon - April 15, 1996.
- John Handcock Mutual Life was a major financial contributor to the monument
- The monument was revealed when the finish line was moved from the Prudential building to the Boston Public Library.
- 15-foot circular granite medallion was designed by Mark Flannery and sculptured by Robert Shure and Robert Lamb.
- 21-foot high arch was originally proposed, but drew strong opposition from Back Bay residences. They felt the arch would block the view of Copley Square.
- Around the Medallion is 8 posts with the seal of the communities on the race course. Each post highlights some of the challenges of running the marathon.
- The name of all the champion runners, as well as the finish times, are on the outer ring. New names are added each year. Since the Monument has been put up, six circular rows have been added to the winner's circle. There are four new entries each year - Which means that 88 names have been added to the memorial since 1996.
- If you look carefully at the medallion, you can see the top part shows the course elevation changes, and the bottom shows all the city and towns that the route takes you through.
2013 Boston Marathon Bombing Memorial
At one of the sites where a bomb exploded, people have left special messages to commemorate those that lost their lives at the 2013 Boston Marathon Bombings.
Occasionally the city will remove the memorabilia so the street doesn't get cluttered with flowers and makeshift monuments.
This year marks the 5th Anniversary of the Bombing. Next Month, the City of Boston will be putting two monuments marking the location of the acts of terror on Boylston Street.
Training for the Boston Marathon?
Check out sport-fitness-advisor.com for some great advice in Marathon Training.
The site is packed with expert tips on getting ready to have a great marathon day. The articles are useful even if you're just starting out a coach to 5k program.
Finding the Boston Marathon Memorial
The Boston Marathon Memorial is located in Copley Square near the intersection of Boylston Street and Dartmouth Street. It's located near the John Singleton Copley Statue.