London Marathon 2013: ‘The Calm after the Boston Storm’

London Marathon chief executive Nick Bitel said in a statement: "We are deeply saddened and shocked by the news from Boston". After the tragedy at the Boston Marathon, were you present at the London marathon to show your support or were you concerned about your own safety?

The media have concentrated their focus on the Boston Marathon in the last week. The news came to me on the many social networks. The web community seemed really affected, and has sent their prayers to the family and friends of the victims and injured.

Were the runners of the London Marathon scared? What about the hundreds of thousands of spectators? I do not know. One sure thing is that the Marathon did not get cancelled. The race from Greenwich Park to the mall (a 26 mile run) is a celebration for all running amateurs, passionate sportspeople and talents who take part in the event. It is a day of enjoyment planned every year.

Security was rearranged for the event as London mayor Boris Johnson had spoken to police Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe "about the possibility of extra security for the London Marathon" for prudence. No less than 36,000 runners participated in the event.

America reassured us by answering the questions of terrorism, and even "the Metropolitan Police said security for the funeral in central London would not be affected by the Boston explosions and that it was a very different event".

What happened in Boston was certainly terrible, but it did not happen in London (although interestingly 374 of the more than 25,000 registered entrants to the Boston Marathon were actually British). The terrifying images of the Boston Marathon will remain in our memories, but the London Marathon was a different event. After the storm comes the calm.

Did you take part in the London Marathon? Did you go to show your support? Feel free to tell us your experience.

Manuela Constantini is a French student currently studying for a degree in Communication Studies at the University of East London. Read more posts by Manuela here.

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