We don't need to go on at length about why today's running of the Boston Marathon is important.
We all know it's the first since the bombings near the finish line of last year's race. The explosions killed three people and injured another 260 or so. In the four days that followed, authorities say, the two suspects murdered an MIT campus police officer. One of the two brothers accused of carrying out the bombings then died after a gun battle with police. The other is in custody. The young Muslim men were allegedly driven by anger over the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Eyder is among the NPR journalists in Boston today to report on the race. His latest dispatch for NPR's Running Toward Boylston Tumblr blog is posted here. Our NPR colleague Jeff Brady is on the scene as well. He talked on Morning Edition about the increased security.
We'll be watching for news and updating if necessary. In the meantime, we simply want to point to some resources for those who want to know more about the 26.2-mile race and want to keep track of what's happening:
-- WBUR has "A Spectator's Guide To The Boston Marathon." The day will begin at 8:45 a.m. ET in Hopkinton, where the race starts, with a moment of silence.
The first racers, those who are mobility impaired, will set off at 8:50 a.m. ET. Over the next 2 1/2 hours, other racers take off in waves. The first who are likely to cross the finish line will be from the men's "push rim wheelchair division," probably around 10:40 a.m. ET.
The "elite women" start running at 9:32 a.m. ET. The winner from that division is expected to finish just before noon ET. The "elite men" start racing at 10 a.m. ET. The winner of the men's race is expected to cross the line around 12:08 p.m. ET.
-- The Boston Athletic Association plans to stream the marathon here. The BAA also has an interactive page for tracking runners.
-- WBUR has "a real time map of Tweets and Instagrams" from along the course.
-- WGBH is planning to post reports from its correspondents and some of the runners.
The weather report for Boston, according to The Weather Channel: 49 degrees and sunny at 9 a.m.; 57 degrees and partly cloudy by noon; 62 degrees and mostly sunny at 3 p.m.
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