The London Marathon Will Donate £2 for Every Finisher to Boston

A nice gesture from the first major city marathon to follow the Boston Marathon attack.

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Among the many kind gestures from cities around the country and the world comes news that organizers of the London Marathon will donate £2 for every racer to cross the finish line to Boston’s One Fund, an organization set up by city and state officials here to aid victims of the Boston Marathon bombings. The London Marathon team said they expect about 35,000 people to finish the race on Sunday, April 21. That comes to £70,000 or $100,000 in U.S. currency. From the press release announcing the decision:

The London Marathon has also sent a link to the Boston fundraising page to all its runners, encouraging them to make their own donations. The One Fund website is: www.onefundboston.org. Virgin London Marathon Race Director Hugh Brasher said: “Everyone connected with the London Marathon was shocked by the terrible events in Boston, and we are keen to show our support to the victims’ families and our friends in the running community there. “As soon as we heard about The One Fund Boston we decided to make a donation. Our pledge to give £2 for every finisher at the 2013 Virgin London Marathon seemed an appropriate and fitting way to make our contribution.”

In the wake of the Boston attack, London Marathon organizers said they’d review the security procedures in place, but that the race would continue as scheduled. Watching racers cross a marathon finish line less than a week after Boston’s course was violently disrupted was always going to be a nice sign of resilience, but now you’ve got extra reason to root for the runners.