Boston Marathon 2015: Top Race Pictures from Twitter and Instagram

Few activities symbolize the power of the human spirit more than running a marathon, and after the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, few sporting contests are more representative of American resilience and perseverance than the annual race.  

Many powerful images emerged from the 2014 edition, and the same was true for this year's event.

The Boston Marathon Instagram account shared this image and message Monday:

The full caption reads: " 'One equal temper of heroic hearts, made weak by time and fate, but strong in will to strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.' - The last lines from 'Ulysses' by Alfred, Lord Tennyson."

It continues, "These words are engraved in the Boston Marathon monument in Copley Square."

The spirit of that message showe in many ways throughout the day. ESPN shared this image and story of Rebekah Gregory, who lost her leg in the 2013 tragedy but competed Monday with a prosthetic leg:

The military was also represented in the race, and Runner's World on Instagram shared this stirring image:

Time.com on Twitter also shared a powerful picture of the survivors of 2013's bombing banding together before the race:

Of course, for all the perseverance and the patriotism on display, there was also a race to be won. On the men's side, Lelisa Desisa of Ethiopia won his second Boston Marathon, and Oskar Garcia of The Associated Press passed along the picture of him crossing the finish line, along with a tidbit about his previous victory:

CBC News on Twitter also shared the moment Desisa received his trophy:

CNN on Twitter, meanwhile, showed Caroline Rotich of Kenya crossing the finish line:

Rotich, amazingly, won by a mere four seconds and had to pull away from Mare Dibaba, of Ethiopia, in the last few blocks of the race, as the pair were largely stride-for-stride down the stretch. In the end, however, Rotich had just a bit more gas left in the tank and was able to earn the win. 

Then, there was the finish in the women's wheelchair marathon, when American Tatyana McFadden came across the finish line as the winner in a moment captured by Natalie DiBlasio of RunHaven:

"

This is so moving I have tears in my eyes. A beautiful day to be in Boston. @TatyanaMcFadden wins!!! #BostonMarathon pic.twitter.com/3jH0Hg5sS9

— Natalie DiBlasio (@ndiblasio) April 20, 2015"

Marcel Hug of Switzerland won the men's wheelchair race. 

In all, a rainy day in Boston couldn't overshadow the annual event and the showing of perseverance and sheer will displayed by the survivors and the athletes alike. For the second year in a row, the Boston Marathon offered Americans the chance to not only look back and remember the victims of the bombings, but also the heroism of the volunteers and the law enforcement on that day who helped to save lives.