When the 118th running of the Boston Marathon kicks off Monday there will be more than 100 Rochester-area runners participating, including some who were there when the bombs went off during last year's race. Three people were killed in that race, more than 260 injured.
One local man has run the race numerous times before, and says he isn’t fearful because of what happened last year.
This will be the 43rd time that Dave Coyne has run the race. The 62 year old from Avon was several blocks from the finish line last year when the first bomb exploded. He says he is confident that the race this year will be run without any violence, but he tells WXXI News that the memory of what happened last year will be fresh in his mind.
"I'm going to remember right where I was, 'cause I know exactly where I was when the bombs started to go off. That memory is going to come back to me, I'm sure, and I'm sure getting through that spot is going to be special. "
Coyne says even with all of the times he's run Boston and other marathons, this race will have special significance for him.
"You know I just feel like it's part of the healing, and it's got to be a positive experience, and I'm very confident that everything is going to go off and everything's going to go well. "
Coyne says even with all of the memories that will likely come back to him as he crosses the spot where he first heard an explosion, he will not worry about his safety. As he put it, “there's no fears, not in this runner. "
