Boston opens race spots for those most affected by bombings

The Boston Athletic Association is allowing those most affected by the bombings at the 2013 Boston Marathon an invitational entry.

The invites are being offered to “those who were most impacted” by the bombings last spring and the B.A.A. is asking them to write, in 250 words or less, how they have been personally impacted since the race. Entry standards are not required to apply but the deadline for submission is Nov. 27 at 5 p.m.

“We are making additional entries available by request to those who were personally and profoundly impacted, and this is in addition to an allocation which we have made to The One Fund community, first responders and Boston-area hospitals which were involved,” said Tom Grilk, B.A.A. Executive Director, in a press release.

The number of entries will be limited and if selected the invitational runners will be required to cover a $325 USD entry fee.

In 2014 the total number of runners will be capped at 36,000.

Also surrounding the marathon, Katherine Jewell, a history professor from Fitchburg State University, who was nearing the explosions during the 2013 race, is building a crowdsourced history of the event where spectators and runners can pin their place on a map and tell their story.

“The site has gotten over 300 hits, and there is one story that has been logged in. People are probably thinking, ‘does my story matter? I wasn’t right there, I wasn’t hurt, I wasn’t a first responder,’ and yes, everyone’s story matters. We need to come to terms with this event as a community, to be able to heal. We can respond in a positive way to a violation,” Jewell told Telegram Towns.

Jewell hopes the project will build a large database of the event that stretches well beyond the bombing site, and tell stories about how people were affected even far from the race route.