Pre-Race Preparations in Boston for Today's Marathon

Tourists thronged Copley Square snapping photos of the Boston Marathon Finish, which some of them hoped to see again today at the end of a victorius run.

The Boston Marathon is very much about winning. But it's not just about the top finishers who win prizes and world recognition.

It's also about the 25,000 runners brave enough to start, and almost that many who finish, pushing through all obstacles to cross the finish line in Boston, 26 miles from Hopkinton.

Among the people most important to them—their families, co-workers, friends and for many, the beneficiaries of the charities for which they run—they are winners too. And whether they achieve their personal goals, or fall short but push themselves the best they can  as far as they can, they are winners to themselves too.

They went beyond what most of us attempt. They tried. Forever they can say, "I ran the Boston Marathon."