Bombings shape Boston’s legacy, future

BOSTON – It’s been decades since you could run in the Boston Marathon without qualifying, before limits on the field size made entering – almost as much as finishing – something to aspire to.

The course has changed a dozen times or more. Women officially were welcomed in 1972, wheelchairs three years later and prize money was introduced in 1986, ushering in a professional era that rejuvenated the event and fortified its status as the world’s most prestigious road race.

But nothing in more than a century has done more to shape how the Boston Marathon is perceived and how it will look in the future than the twin explosions at the finish line in 2013.

And when the field of 30,000 leaves Hopkinton on Monday for the 119th race, the effect of those bombs will be seen not just in the ever-watchful security but in the way the runners and their supporters have responded to the unprecedented attack.

“I don’t think it’s ever going to be just a race again,” said Desiree Linden, who returns this year in search of the American victory she missed by 2 seconds in 2011. “There’s so much history here: Some of it is good; some of it is bad. When you run Boston, that’s always going to be a part of it.”

Bush and Rubio: Long alliance sours

NASHUA, N.H. – Ties between Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, political allies for more than a decade, are fraying as the Republican presidential campaign picks up.

In public, mentor Bush and protege Rubio have avoided criticizing each other since Rubio announced his candidacy.

But Bush allies have started quietly spreading negative information about Rubio’s record. Also, supporters of the two Miami politicians are drawing contrasts between Rubio, a 43-year-old son of Cuban immigrants, and 62-year-old Bush, a member of one of the nation’s most powerful political dynasties.

“Sparks are going to fly,” said Al Cardenas, a Bush adviser who also is close to Rubio. “For the first time in our country’s history, you’ve got two guys from the same town in the same state from the same party running in the same primary.

“You can bet that regardless of how nice Jeb or Marco wants to be, their staffs are going to do anything they can to win.”

Associated Press