Impact of the Boston Marathon on Surrounding Cities

     Since 1897, there are have been many articles and documents surrounding the prestigious event of the Boston Marathon (BM), a near 116 year old race. When an individual hears the words, Boston Marathon, he or she may think particularly in regard to qualifying standards, the Olympics for runners or as a Runner'sWorld article was titled: B.Q. or Die! What is this infatuation with running day after day to no endless means and if to only fail, you try again and again? Is it simply because one can run with the elite runners of today? Is it because you have to meet qualifying standards in order to compete? There is a similar and different reason among each individual training for this race. For me? It is everything mentioned beforehand! It is a runner's dream to train hard day after day to meet the standards of such a race! To run the same road where many elite runners set a world record, an American or where both elite and, we will call 'us' everyday runners, recreational runners have set our own personal records. Where runners of all ages, sexes, and ethnicity have experienced pain, sadness, happiness, honors and so forth! The Boston Marathon---it is simply, for some as myself, A Runner's Enduring Excursion. 
     There is so much more to the Boston Marathon as it takes place on the third Monday of April. As an undergraduate, I am researching the history of the Boston Marathon and looking at the impact it has had on surrounding cities for my thesis. A thesis? This is the Boston Marathon we are talking about here---a long history of 'running' marathons! I mind as well turn this into a dissertation or a book when I finish this exquisite product of work. Essentially, this blog will track my progress and help others learn about the race. Heck, this will help me 'free write' and develop new ideas to help express myself during my process. I have setup a thread on Runner'sWorld and I figured, why not create a blog where I can express my ideas and see what others think and so forth. So, I hope many will post ideas, comments, concerns and may be even questions of their own in regard to this road race!
     Let's get started! I will try to post sections for books, articles, other blogs, websites and etc that I have accumulated and found interesting.

General goals for my thesis and research:

• Clearly---to learn about the history of the Boston Marathon
• Define more clearly the impacts of the Boston Marathon on its surrounding cities
• Charities, Sponsorships, Tourism, and so forth.