The London Marathon observed 30 seconds of silence before the race got underway Sunday, in a show of solidarity with the victims of Monday's attack at the Boston Marathon. Many runners and spectators wore black ribbons to honor the three people killed and the more than 170 injured in two bombings.
Tsegaye Kebede of Ethiopia took the London race — the second time he has won the event. The marathon drew 36,000 participants, and organizers expect about 34,500 to finish the race. The London Marathon is donating £2 for every finisher to , which was set up "to help the people most affected by the tragic events."
As the BBC reports, Boston Marathon women's wheelchair winner Tatyana McFadden repeated with a victory in London.
"You know, this whole weekend was dedicated to Boston, and we got huge support from London," she said. "So, I couldn't be happier — just getting support. It was just a wonderful day."
Security was heightened for the London race, with officers on hand to secure the area for the runners and for an estimated half-million spectators.
Perhaps the most disturbing thing were reports that Mo Farah, the British runner who won gold in the 5,000-meter and 10,000-meter events at the London Olympics last summer, had overslept and missed the start of the race.
News reports about his predicament spread quickly after Farah yelled to a BBC radio journalist that he was late and might miss the bus.
"Just to clarify, I had breakfast at 5am today, my comment about sleeping in was just a joke," Farah tweeted later. "I was one of the first athletes on the bus to the start."
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