Dominick Reuter/Reuters
Runners on Commonwealth Avenue during this year's Boston Marathon are cheered by a large crowd of enthusiastic spectators.
Bill Kole, The Associated Press New England bureau chief, tweeted his thoughts and observations about all those who gathered to show that Boston is stronger than the terrorists who detonated two bombs near the finish line in 2013, killing three spectators and wounding 264.
The race featured significantly larger crowds, double the number of law enforcement, and 9,000 more runners than previous years, according to The New York Times.
Kole took off in the second wave of runners, at 10:25 a.m., finishing the 26.2-mile journey around 3 p.m.
Here are the tweets from @billkole during the approximately four and a half hours he spent racing - and tweeting - to the finish line, to the delight of his Twitter followers.
Start: The gun booms, the runners roar; we're off. I'm bobbing in a sea of fist pumps and high fives. Boston's back. #26Tweets2Boston
- Bill Kole (@billkole) April 21, 2014
Mile 1: Huge choruses of "Hell, yeah, we're back!" from the crowd. #26Tweets2Boston
- Bill Kole (@billkole) April 21, 2014
Mile 2: Local dudes offering us beers and cigarettes. Um, I'll pass, thanks. #26Tweets2Boston
- Bill Kole (@billkole) April 21, 2014
Kole and his fellow runners cruised easily through the first 3.1 miles, thanks to the tremendous support from a crowd of spectators obviously brimming with extra enthusiasm.
Mile 3: Ever run a 5K? We just did the first of eight and a half 5Ks in a row. #26Tweets2Boston
- Bill Kole (@billkole) April 21, 2014
Mile 4: Someone just channeled Red Sox slugger David Ortiz: "This is our (expletive) marathon!" #26Tweets2Boston
- Bill Kole (@billkole) April 21, 2014
Mile 5: Sorry, world; spotty cell coverage so some tweets late. We're Boston Strong but the network isn't. #26Tweets2Boston
- Bill Kole (@billkole) April 21, 2014
Mile 6: Runner from Michigan: "I've prayed for Boston every single day since 4/15/2013. Every single day. #26Tweets2Boston
- Bill Kole (@billkole) April 21, 2014
Mile 7: Helicopters are thundering overhead, but runners are gazing resolutely at the long ribbon of asphalt ahead. #26Tweets2Boston
- Bill Kole (@billkole) April 21, 2014
Although Kole and his fellow runners didn't spend much time looking at the sky, the helicopters they heard may have belonged to the Army National Guard, which The New York Times reported were scheduled to take off over the starting line at 9:51 a.m. and fly over the course.
Mile 8: Even Santa left the North Pole in his off-season to cheer for us. #26Tweets2Boston pic.twitter.com/AMXEgAcVQn
- Bill Kole (@billkole) April 21, 2014
Mile 9: "You're a third done!" Awesome. But two thirds undone; not so much. Onward! #26Tweets2Boston
- Bill Kole (@billkole) April 21, 2014
Mile 10: A consensus emerges: How often do you get to use a pacifist sport like running to poke a terrorist in the eye #26Tweets2Boston
- Bill Kole (@billkole) April 21, 2014
Mile 11: "I am not in danger. I AM the danger." T-shirt worn by runner Jenny Welch of Los Angeles. #26Tweets2Boston
- Bill Kole (@billkole) April 21, 2014
Mile12: Word reaches us mid-pack runners of a sweet American victory, and a collective cheer goes up. #26Tweets2Boston
- Bill Kole (@billkole) April 21, 2014
That is Meb Keflezighi, of California, who finished with an official time of 2:08:37. Keflezighi is the first American man to win the race since 1983.
There is no tweet labeled "Mile 13" on Bill Kole's Twitter profile. That may be a result of poor signal strength affecting his mobile phone.
Mile 14: Crowds are really thickening up. If I high-fived everyone who offered, I'd finish with a skeleton hand. #26Tweets2Boston
- Bill Kole (@billkole) April 21, 2014
Uh-oh, Mile 15 also appears absent from Kole's profile. But this is the last one missing.
Mile 16: Usually my marathon mantra is "run tall, run light, run loose." Today it's "run tall, run proud, run strong." #26Tweets2Boston
- Bill Kole (@billkole) April 21, 2014
Network is playing goofball again with my tweets. Sorry, world! #26Tweets2Boston
- Bill Kole (@billkole) April 21, 2014
Mile 17: Sign of the race: "Dad, I'm pregnant." And right before the dreaded Newton hills. Dang, dad. #26Tweets2Boston
- Bill Kole (@billkole) April 21, 2014
Mile 18: And thar' she blows: Heartbreak Hill. May the course be with us. (Oh, right, it's not ...) #26Tweets2Boston
- Bill Kole (@billkole) April 21, 2014
Heartbreak Hill is a notoriously difficult part of the marathon. It is not very steep, but it comes late in the course and is the last of a stretch of several hills in Newton, Mass. Check out a map of this portion of the course here, at Boston.com.
Mile 19: Just when I was about to complain about a blister, I passed a man with a carbon fiber blade. There are no words. #26Tweets2Boston
- Bill Kole (@billkole) April 21, 2014
Mile 20: Crowds so thick and insistent they barely let me stop to tweet. These people ARE truly Boston. #26Tweets2Boston
- Bill Kole (@billkole) April 21, 2014
Mile 21: Heartbreak Hill conquered. Five more tough miles to gut out. But the entire city is our cheering section. #26Tweets2Boston
- Bill Kole (@billkole) April 21, 2014
Mile 22: #BostonCollege is to beer what #WellesleyCollege is to spirit. True story. #26Tweets2Boston
- Bill Kole (@billkole) April 21, 2014
Mile 23: A blister on my toe is bleeding thru my shoe. Hurts but all I can think is how grateful I am to have a foot. #26Tweets2Boston
- Bill Kole (@billkole) April 21, 2014
Mile 24: Amusing shout: "Run like you just pooped your pants!" Yikes. #26Tweets2Boston
- Bill Kole (@billkole) April 21, 2014
Mile 25: This is where police stopped the race last year. Nothing but a jubilant stream of humanity today. #26Tweets2Boston
- Bill Kole (@billkole) April 21, 2014
5,633 runners were still running the Boston Marathon in 2013 when police barricaded the course and prevented them from finishing. This year, race organizers invited those runners back to finally cross the finish line.
Finish: Everyone's screaming on Boylston Street. For all the right reasons. 36,000 sweaty, tearful, exuberant reasons. #26Tweets2Boston
- Bill Kole (@billkole) April 21, 2014
As he continued running, Kole's hashtag #26Tweets2Boston became popular on Twitter as followers were moved by his tweets.
Legit tearing up reading @billkole 's live tweets of his running of the Boston Marathon. If ur not following #26tweets2Boston, you should be
- Jessica Burnell (@soaringleap424) April 21, 2014
#26Tweets2Boston made me cry.
- Lizz (@ekholi) April 21, 2014
Kole finished the race with a time of 4:33:37, according to the results on the Boston Marathon's website. Not bad for running while tweeting and sharing his amazing experience with the world.