BAA: 99% Of Runners Completed 'Epic' Boston Marathon

BOSTON (CBS) – The Boston Athletic Association said 99-percent of the runners who started the 2014 Boston Marathon went the distance and finished it.

"The one word I have to describe it all – epic," race director Dave McGillivray told reporters Tuesday at a post-race news conference.

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McGillivray said the spirit on display throughout the event proved it will not be defined by the 2013 bombings.

"We will never see this again, this was a race for the ages for sure," he said.

WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Karen Twomey reports

Only 15 unofficial runners, known as 'bandits', tried to enter the race.  McGillivray said that number used to be 3,000.

He added that there were more than one million spectators along the 26.2 mile course and several million more following the race around the world.

The 32,144 runners who finished the 2014 marathon can have their medals engraved for free at the Marathon Sports on Boylston Street near the finish line.

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• Karen Twomey