Congratulations to the Rockford Runners in the 120th Boston Marathon

I remember the very first time I saw a major marathon, it was this years Chicago Marathon. I was slowly walking through the crowds, watching each runner pass and thinking to myself, "wow, these people are incredible; finishing this marathon is going to be one of their greatest accomplishments." It was almost enough to inspire me to become a runner myself, but to be honest I think it's a great accomplishment to run 5 miles; something I could never do until this year.

But you have to start somewhere and as I went for my run yesterday, my mind was with all of those running the Boston Marathon yesterday. Ever since the bombings that took place three years ago, running this race almost has an entirely different meaning. These runners are resilient, strong, and brave; and they're also from the Rockford area.

Thank you to my friends, Brian and Dorothy Wallheimer, the creators of HappyRockford.com and the Facebook page, Happy Rockford, for sharing this list of friends and family from Rockford who finished yesterday's race.

Great job to all the runners, you should be very proud.