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4:09:43: Boston 2013 Through the Eyes of the Runners
40943 Boston 2013 Through the Eyes of the Runners Author:Hal Higdon The explosions that rocked the 2013 Boston Marathon offered one more reminder that evil people occupy this world. Three spectators died during the blasts; the two terrorists gunned down a fourth victim. Fourteen lost limbs. More than 260 people injured. And 23,000 runners suddenly realized that their normally peaceful sport had been permanently ... more »scarred. In the first book on this iconic event, 4:09:43, Hal Higdon, a contributing editor at Runner?s World, tells the tale of Boston 2013. The book?s title refers to the numbers on the finish-line clock when the first bomb exploded. In 4:09:43, Higdon views Boston 2013 through the eyes of those running the race, focusing on 75 runners and their individual stories, collected uniquely through social media: blogs posted online, stories offered on Facebook, and e-mails sent to the author. In 4:09:43, Higdon presents these stories, condensing and integrating them into a smooth-flowing narrative that begins with runners boarding the buses at Boston Common, continues with the wait at the Athletes? Village in Hopkinton, and flows through eight separate towns. The story does not end until the 23,000 participants encounter the terror on Boylston Street. ?These are not 75 separate stories,? says Higdon. ?This is one story told as it might have been by a single runner with 75 pairs of eyes.? One warning about reading 4:09:43: You will cry. But you will laugh too, because for most of those who covered the 26 miles 385 yards from Hopkinton to Boylston Street, this was a joyous journey. In future years as people look back on the Boston Marathon bombings, 4:09:43 will be the book that everyone will need to have read.« less