Lone man shovels Boston Marathon finish line (PHOTO)

The nearly two feet of snow from Winter Storm Juno that piled up on New England Monday and Tuesday didn't stop one intrepid Bostonian from shoveling the Boston Marathon finish line and making sure it was visible. 

The lone shoveler, whose identity was unknown at first, has now been identified as Chris Laudani, who works as a bartender at Back Bay Social Club.

Help Boston solve a #BlizzardOf2015 mystery. #WhoShoveledTheFinishLine? #BostonStrong pic.twitter.com/1icgPcW9Vc
— Boston Police Dept. (@bostonpolice) January 28, 2015

The rest of the 26-mile course, and particularly the sidewalks that line it, are likely to be under snow for some time. But, thanks to Laudani, at least the finish line, an important landmark in the city and running community, whose significance only increased after the Boston Marathon bombings in 2013, is clear: Boston Strong.

“I only did it to send a message…I love the Boston Marathon and everything it stands for, the finish line doesn’t deserve to be covered in snow,” Laudani told Boston magazine.

#WhoShoveledTheFinishLine? Turns out he's a bartender on Boylston Street: http://t.co/eZtZbXusWJ pic.twitter.com/AbhzNfVG6M
— Runner's World (@runnersworld) January 28, 2015

The photographer, Charles Hillman, was staying at a local hotel when he noticed someone clearing the snow outside his window. He told Runner’s World Newswire that, after posting the image on his Twitter account, “I had no idea it would have this response.”

Foursquare CEO's wife used conterfeit bib to run Boston Marathon: Report

The wife of Foursquare CEO Dennis Crowley forged the Boston Marathon registration number on her bib so she could run the  race alongside her social-media mogul husband.

Chelsa Crowley, the self-entitled wife of the tech millionaire, found a way to fake her way into the crowded annual run by forging the number of a legitimate runner who posted a photo of her bib on the Internet after trying unsuccessfully to transfer a number from an injured runner friend, reported the N.Y. Post.

After last year's tragedy at the Boston Marathon, unregistered runners  — called bandits — were banned from the race, but many still found a way to fake their way in — including printing bibs off of their computer screens. Number 14285 (from the Twitter account below) seemed to be pretty popular even after cops vowed to crack down on the phonies.

Crowley got caught after angry marathoner Kathy Brown told ABC that she got her bib by registering as a charity representative — but was stunned to see Crowley wearing her digits in photos of the race on an official website.

“I opened it up looking for pictures of me, and there were some in there and they came out really good — but then I saw this other woman,” she said. “It was pretty easy to figure out that someone just made a fake bib. I put that work in and it wasn’t fair that someone else didn’t have to do that. That was my first thought.”

@TODAYshow I'm sure @NMoralesNBC can appreciate how awful it is that anyone would do this pic.twitter.com/33Jd6jmzHZ
— Kara Bonneau (@karaleigh104) April 24, 2014

Crowley did little to shield herself from detection — and even boldly scrawled her Twitter handle on the bib in pictures from the race. She later tweeted, "shh!!" after being asked if the bib was fake before getting overrun with criticism.

Outrage from other runners grew so intense on social media that Crowley was forced to step in on behalf of his fashion blogger wife. 

“Yes, using a duplicate number to get Chelsa into the starting Corral was wrong,” he said in a statement. “I don’t expect everyone to understand our strong need to run and finish together — but after trying unsuccessfully to get a charity number and trying unsuccessfully to officially transfer a number from an injured-runner friend, we did what we could to make sure we could run together in hopes of ­finishing together.”

Hey Crowleys. Save the finishing together talk for the bedroom.

Mysterious man in a black veil with backpack forces evacuation of Boston Marathon finish line (VIDEO)

A mysterious looking man wearing a black dress with a large black back pack under a black veil prompted Boston police to evacuate the area near the Boston Marathon finish line after he barged toward the area with the suspicious package Tuesday night at about 7:00 p.m.

The surreal scene began when a single man — whom Boston police said appeared to be "not of sound mind" — ran toward the area where the tragic bombing took place one year ago and repeatedly screamed “Boston Strong” before being tackled by police.

The man was also wearing a cape around the backpack, a witness said.

Police told pedestrians to evacuate while they brought in a bomb squad to inspect the bag.

Boston police looking at suspicious black backpack from a distance. Area still in lockdown pic.twitter.com/oegxxayHBU
— Scott Sullivan (@SullyBunz) April 15, 2014

The Boston Police Department said around 8:15 p.m. that they had a male suspect in custody in connection to the incident.

Police Superintendent Randall Halstead said the man had a rice cooker in his backpack and is being charged with possession of a hoax device. He also faces charges faces charges of disturbing the peace and disorderly conduct.

The backpack was blown up by the bomb squad as a precaution and a second unattended backpack found at the scene was a misplaced photographer's bag.

Hours earlier a memorial to those victims of the 2013 attack took place at the race finish.

The 2014 marathon takes place next Monday.

Michigan woman’s Boston Marathon bombing costume sparks outrage

A 22-year-old woman who dressed as a bloody Boston Marathon bombing victim unleashed the wrath of Internet vigilantes.

Alicia Ann Lynch posted a photo of herself wearing the bloodied Halloween costume on her Twitter account and the backlash for the insensitive costume was predictably harsh and swift, reported the website Buzzfeed.

Sydney Corcoran, who was injured along with mother Celeste Corcoran, slammed Lynch on Twitter.

“You should be ashamed, my mother lost both her legs and I almost died in the marathon. You need a filter,” she wrote.

@SomeSKANKinMI You should be ashamed, my mother lost both her legs and I almost died in the marathon. You need a filter.
— Sydney Corcoran (@Sydney23Lynne) November 2, 2013

Hundreds of other reprimands followed, but the response grew increasingly brutal from others, escalating when Web users discovered Lynch had once posted a pic of her driver’s license with her personal information.

Online commenters used the details to track down her parents’ information and spread it across the Internet.

Lynch quickly suspended her Twitter account, @SomeSKANKinMI, and abandoned other social media sites, but that did little to quell the threats.

Web users spread nude photos reportedly scraped from Lynch’s online accounts and advocated bullying, raping and killing her.

The Website Buzzfeed reported Lynch reopened her account to beg for mercy.

She claimed she lost her job, and pleaded with the online mercenaries to spare her mother and father.

Did people loot merchandise from Boston Marathon stalls in wake of explosions? (VIDEO)

Video footage moments after the Boston Marathon bombings appears to show dozens of people grabbing merchandise — which was meant for the exhausted runners who finished the race—  and hauling it off for themselves

In the video, individuals — who are dressed in street clothes and apparently not runners — appear to be grabbing blue and yellow jackets from the cardboard boxes set upon tables near the finish line and calmly walking away. Some of them seem to be stuffing armfuls of jackets into bags, checking sizes  and making exchanges for another.

YouTube and Reddit users have posted footage of the perceived looting while other social media posts argued that these people might be bringing the goods to help the runners who finished the race or the spectators who were injured from the dual blasts.

You be the judge.



The boxes and tent where the jackets were housed near the finish line had apparently been abandoned during confusion in the aftermath of the explosions — which killed three people and injured more than 170.

One user claimed to have been at the scene depicted in the video and said, "they were giving [the jackets] away to comfort the injured."

To some, it may look like there is no rush to get these jackets to anyone but themselves and the scene resembles a leisurely shopping spree at the Lord & Taylor store just across the street.

Hopefully, their motive was lending a helping hand to the injured and not taking home a ghoulish souvenir.

78-year-old man knocked down by explosion managed to finish Boston Marathon

The elderly man captured on video getting knocked flat on his back — at the moment the first blast went off near the finish line of the Boston Marathon Monday — and John Tlumacki's dramatic photo have become two of the most viewed images of the tragedy.  Now the man's face has come to represent the spirit and determination to overcome this senseless crime after he got up and finished the race.

Bill Iffrig, the 78-year-old man in the orange tank top was knocked off his feet just yards from the finish line when the first explosion detonated, said his legs turned to "noodles" from the force of the blast after running four hours in his third Boston Marathon.

As Boston cops, race volunteers and spectators scattered for safety and to help others, Iffrig was helped up by a race official and managed to cross the finish line.

Last night he told ESPN how he knew he was "going down" when he was knocked over by the explosion and knew it was a bomb.

"It was only....feet away from me," he said.  "It was really loud."

He said he was heading for the finish line and "feeling pretty good" when he heard a terrible explosion.

"The shockwaves must have hit my body and my legs just started going like noodles and I knew I was going down right there," he said.

"My legs just gave out," he told CNN Monday night. He said most of the runners just kept on going, but he went down because he was nearest the blast.

He said he never lost consciousness but described how he "woke up" a little later and saw what he believed to be a part of a bomb nearby.

Mr Iffrig said what he saw was a casing that looked like a coffee can, but added: "Then all this smoke was coming from someplace, and I wasn't able to see too much."

When a race official came to help him, Iffrig struggled to his feet and managed to cross the finishing line.

Hopefully, viewers who watched the footage of the first blast will be happy to know what happened to to Iffrig, who appeared seriously hurt as he crumpled to the ground. 

"After you've run 26 miles, you're not going to stop there," said the veteran of 45 marathons.

Iffrig's words and actions are lessons and metaphors for everyone who is affected by this sort of cowardly violence and when sports and the real world meet. Don't let it stop us from getting up and breaking the tape.

Autistic basketball hero Jason McElwain qualifies for Boston Marathon

Add another chapter to the amazing athletic exploits of the autistic Rochester, N.Y. man who made national headlines by scoring 20 points in four minutes in the only high school game he ever played in.

Six years ago, Jason McElwain came off the bench to become a YouTube sensation and inspiration for millions.  This weekend, the 23-year old McElwain qualified for the Boston Marathon by finishing the MVP Health Care Rochester Marathon in 3 hours, 1 minute and 41 seconds — the first marathon he has ever competed in.

McElwain finished in 15th place and qualified for the Boston classic by finishing in under 3:05.  The supermarket baker, known as J-Mac, hopes to run in Boston in 2014.




McElwain was the student-manager of the Greece Athena High School team when coach Jim Johnson put him in the final game of the season in 2006.  With four minutes left, J-Mac hit six 3-point shots and two free throws sending the crowd into a wild frenzy.

The video went viral and has been viewed millions of times.  The inspirational McElwain went on to meet then-President George W. Bush and appear with Oprah Winfrey.  The movie rights were bought by former NBA star Magic Johnson.

About his unforgettable game,  the unflappable McElwain explained that he was "hotter than a pistol."

Besides working in the bakery, McElwain  is an assistant JV basketball coach.  He began his marathon training about a year ago.

This is one guy that's never been out of the running anyway.