Boston Marathon essays

A collection of personal essays, opinion pieces and ideas published by WBUR's Cognoscenti over the years that discuss Boston's iconic marathon.

Runners pour over the Mass Pike Bridge at the Mile 25 marker welcoming them to Boston. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

The Boston Marathon is every runner's dream, including mine

Barbara Moran, 53, has run five marathons, but the last one was 20 years ago. She gave up running regularly when arthritis began eating away at her knees. What if...

07:46Apr 12, 2024

Rodrigo Ronzella celebrates after crossing the finish line during the 126th Boston Marathon on April 18, 2022 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

Running with hope: The Boston Marathon, 10 years after the bombings

The unthinkable happened when two bombs went off on Boylston Street 10 years ago. But the Boston Marathon has remained an event of human triumph -- that part didn’t change.

09:01Apr 14, 2023

Kara Goucher of the United States is part of the lead pack of female Boston Marathon runners making their way up Heartbreak Hill section of Commonwealth Ave. in Newton, Mass. on April 20, 2009. Goucher finished third, 9 seconds behind the winner. (John Blanding/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

Kara Goucher is running for herself

I loved running before I knew I was good at it, and I'm glad I was good at it — it completely changed my life, writes American distance-running great Kara...

08:03Apr 14, 2023

Eliud Kipchoge of Team Kenya celebrates after winning the gold medal in the Men's Marathon Final on day sixteen of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Sapporo Odori Park on August 08, 2021 in Sapporo, Japan. (Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)

Watch out, Boston: The world's fastest marathoner is coming to town

Will Eliud Kipchoge achieve the unfathomable? A sub-2-hour marathon? Anything is possible, writes Barbara Huebner.

Apr 13, 2023

Matt Onorato lays flowers on a banner during a candle light vigil at the Boston Common April 16, 2013, a day after the Boston Marathon bombing. (Dominick Reuter for WBUR)

I’ll go for a run. That’s how I’ll mark this somber anniversary

I left before the bombs exploded. But I love Boston and the marathon, so what happened is personal, writes Alex Ashlock, who covered the marathon for WBUR in 2013.

Apr 13, 2023

Marathon runners race through the “scream tunnel” at Wellesley College in 2019. (Robin Lubock/WBUR)

On Marathon Monday, I’ll be cheering the runners in the back of the pack

Tova Mirvis didn't think she could be a runner. Finishing a half-marathon, she writes, nudged her "toward an alternate idea of who I might be."

Apr 12, 2023

A photograph of suspect Dzhkokhar Tsarnaev is played on a television in a shopping center near the site of the Boston Marathon bombings on April 23, 2013 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Extremism is a disease. Why don't we treat it like one?

Ten years after the tragedy at the Boston Marathon, our society sees extremism primarily as a moral and political issue, writes Myrieme Churchill. We are more preoccupied with showing our...

Apr 11, 2023

Peres Jepchirchir from Kenya, races and wins first place in the Womenâs elite division at the 126 Boston Marathon on April 18, 2022 in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. (Lauren Owens Lambert/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

We want to hear from you: 10 years after the Boston Marathon bombing

We're working on a project reflecting back on the 10 years since the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing. How do we reclaim something we love, when it's forever marked by tragedy?...

Mar 24, 2023

Sara Mae Berman, at her home in Cambridge, Mass., wears a medal she was presented for her Boston Marathon wins in 1969, 1970, and 1971. The Boston Athletic Association began recognizing women racers officially in 1972. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

When women weren't allowed, Sara Mae Berman ran Boston anyway

This year marks 50 years of women "officially" running the Boston Marathon. But by 1972, Berman was a seasoned pro — having won the race three times already.

04:40Apr 15, 2022

Tatyana McFadden of the United States competes in her women's 1500m T54 heat on day 6 of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games at Olympic Stadium on August 30, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)

Tatyana McFadden: 'Running together into a new future'

Tatyana McFadden is a 20-time Paralympic medalist and a 23-time major marathon winner. She's the only elite female athlete attempting to podium in five major marathons this fall, including Boston....

08:54Oct 8, 2021

Desiree Linden crosses the finish line to win the women's division of the 122nd Boston Marathon on April 16, 2018, in Boston. Linden was the first American woman to win the race since 1985. (Elise Amendola/AP)

Des Linden: 'Running Rewards Consistency And Resilience. So Does Life'

The empty streets on this Patriots’ Day are exactly what we need, but it’s sad and disappointing, writes Des Linden. Keep your heads up. Lend a hand to the people...

03:21Apr 20, 2020

Amby Burfoot wins the Boston Marathon in 1968. (Photo by Jeff Johnson)

I Won The Boston Marathon 50 Years Ago. Now I Run On Gratitude

There is no place on Earth I’d rather be than the wide, welcoming expanse of the Boston Marathon finish line, writes Amby Burfoot.

Apr 16, 2018

In 1967, challenging the all-male tradition of the Boston Marathon, Kathrine Switzer entered the race. Two miles in, a race official tried to physically remove her from the course. To mark 50 years since that day, Switzer will run the 2017 race. (AP)

Kathrine Switzer: Running Gave Me The Courage To Try New Things

In 1967, Kathrine Switzer was the first woman to run the Boston Marathon with an official bib number.

02:53Apr 16, 2018

An emergency responder and volunteers, including Carlos Arredondo in the cowboy hat, push Jeff Bauman in a wheel chair after he was injured in an explosion near the finish line of the Boston Marathon Monday, April 15, 2013 in Boston. (Charles Krupa/AP)

The Redemption Of The Man In The Cowboy Hat

In the competing narratives of cowardice and courage emerging from the Boston Marathon bombings, perhaps none is as powerful as the story of Carlos Arredondo.

Apr 17, 2013