Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson East, 27, was slated to run alongside husband Andrew East, but stuck to the sidelines, as she announced earlier this month she’sexpecting her first child.
Sitting out the marathon didn’t stop her from enthusiastically cheering on East, 27, as she shared an Instagram video of her calling over her NFL player husband mid-race to give him a kiss.
“I’m obnoxious. Had to kiss his sweaty face,” she wrote. “So freaking proud.”
Nick Laham/Getty; CHRIS DELMAS/AFP/Getty
NASCAR racer Jimmie Johnson, 43, also participated, finishing with a time of 3:09:07.
“That was the most challenging thing I’ve ever done, what an experience!” he wrote on Twitter afterward, sharing video of himself triumphantly crossing the finish line.
Supernaturalstars Jared and Genevieve Padalecki ran, too, in order to raise money for the charityDream Big!, which aims to help girls from low-income families play sports.
The day was an extra special one for Olympic gold medalist Joan Benoit Samuelson, who was celebrating the 40th anniversary of winning the Boston Marathon in 1979.
The 61-year-old runner finished with a time of 3:04:00, allowing her to complete her goal of finishing within 40 minutes of her 1979 winning time, according to theBoston Herald.
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Tedy Bruschi, 45, a former Patriots linebacker, ran his race with hisnon-profit Tedy’s Teamin an effort to raise awareness for stroke and heart disease, as the athlete suffered a stroke in 2005.
Meanwhile, Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, England, participated, too, in memory of the 22 victims of the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing.
“In a small way, I am saying to the families that lost people in the attack that I am still thinking about them and we think about them all the time, but also standing together as cities that have been through acts of terrorism. I think we need to do that more. There is too much hate, and the only way to counter it is for cities to stand strong together,” he toldCBS Boston.
Lawrence Cherono, 30, took first place in the men’s elite race, while Worknesh Degefa, 28, of Ethiopia, won the women’s elite race with a time of 2:23:30.
Cherono, 30, of Kenya, was running for the first time, and finished with a time of 2:07:57, just barely edging out two-time winner Lelisa Desisa, who clocked in at 2:07:59.
source: people.com
