Charlie Pierce's Accounts Of The Scene At The Boston Marathon

UPDATED, APRIL 16, 2013

The Boston Marathon is a beloved tradition in the city where our program is produced. The race is held on Patriots' Day, a Massachusetts state holiday. It is a spring ritual that attracts thousands to a course that travels through seven towns on its way to the finish line in Boston's Copley Square.

Only A Game analyst Charlie Pierce was near the finish at the time of the explosions Monday. In this blog post for Esquire.com, he wrote:

"I had walked down an unguarded block and had come out one block below where the afternoon’s bloodshed had taken place. A policeman told me, “We have the possibility of another device. You are not safe here. Please move along for your own safety.”

Pierce is also a regular contributor to the sports website Grantland. In an article published Tuesday, he goes into detail about the scene in and around Boston's Copley Square during the aftermath of the bombings and ponders the impact on one of city's most popular events:

"The Marathon was the old, drunk uncle of Boston sports, the last of the true festival events. Every other one of our major sporting rodeos is locked down, and tightened up, and Fail-Safed until the Super Bowl now is little more than NORAD with bad rock music and offensive tackles. You can't do that to the Marathon. There was no way to do it. There was no way to lock down, or tighten up, or Fail-Safe into Security Theater a race that covers 26.2 miles, a race that travels from town to town, a race that travels past people's houses. There was no way to garrison the Boston Marathon. Now there will be."