London Marathon runners urged to pay tribute to Boston Marathon victims

The annual London Marathon is scheduled to take place on Sunday, and as you might expect there are a number of concerns surrounding the event now given the tragedy that unfolded at the Boston Marathon on Monday afternoon. Despite the attack, British sports minister Hugh Robertson said Great Britain “won’t be cowered by this sort of behavior” and will proceed with its race as scheduled.

With the event set to go off as planned, a British running organization called SPAT (Social Purpose And Time) has been using social media to urge runners to pay tribute to those who were affected by the Boston Marathon bombing by crossing the finish line with their hands over their hearts. The hashtag #handsoverhearts is being used to promote the movement.

The response to the campaign has already been overwhelmingly positive, with hundreds of tweets and retweets circulating the internet. Lucy MacNamara, who is running the London Marathon for New Horizons Youth Center (which partners with SPAT), was one of the people who came up with the idea.

“What happened in Boston was just so horrible and we wanted to try and make a positive statement from such a negative event,” MacNamara told The Huffington Post UK on Tuesday. “We wanted to make a statement of solidarity with those in Boston. I’m really happy it’s taken off in the way it has.”

The London Marathon typically attracts around 500,000 spectators, and I’m sure security will be heightened in the wake of what happened in Boston. Hopefully all the runners partake in the hands over hearts movement, as the incredible displays of support that have already been pouring in have undoubtedly helped the healing process.

H/T Game On!