Meb Keflezighi rocked Boston. A decade later, he’s back.

There is a church on Main Street in Hopkinton, just steps from the starting line of the Boston Marathon, inside which elite athletes make their final preparations for running’s most hallowed course .

Mary Wittenberg, former race director of the New York City Marathon, was on the second floor before the 2014 race, on a balcony overlooking the basketball court where the world’s best runners settle in for what awaits them. Athletes moved and stretched, pinning on bibs and shaking off their nerves.

In the corner, she spotted Meb Keflezighi, two weeks shy of his 39th birthday, ten years removed from an Olympic silver medal in Athens and five years removed from his coronation as the first American to win New York in nearly 30 years.

He lay there, eyes closed, feet against the wall, uncaring of the commotion around him or what awaited him. Apparently at peace.

The church floor was a fitting place for Meb, a devout Christian, to spend his final moments before embarking on history. Few people knew that he was chasing victory that day; he hadn’t even told Hawi, his brother and manager.

Two nights before the marathon, when Meb was wondering how to honor the 2013 victims on race day, he met with the Martin Richard Foundation at the Harvard Club near Kenmore Square.

He had a private moment with Bill and Denise Richard, whose story had touched him deeply – not only as someone who had crossed the finish line in the stands just half an hour before the attack, but as a father whose daughter was close to the child’s age. Richards’ son, Martin.

On the way back to Fairmont Copley Plaza, race director Dave McGillivray asked what Monday’s goal was and became one of the few who knew what Meb had in mind.

As he prepares to appear Monday to raise money for his foundation, Meb had a chance to reflect on that day in 2014 when the eyes of the world turned to Boston.

“My best version of myself was behind me time-wise, but Boston is all about competition,” he said. “And I was ready to do it that day.”

Very few consequences occur in the first half of elite marathons. The pack stretches and thins, but the favorites are usually still there for 16, 18, 20 miles before any significant movement is made.

So, when Meb and Josphat Boit took a 10 second lead at kilometer 10, it was a surprise. When Meb dropped Boit off at mile 15, he was all alone and everyone who listened to the second half couldn’t believe what they were seeing.

“I’m an optimistic person,” Hawi said, “but at the same time, I’ve seen so many marathons where, when you have a group of runners chasing one person.” . The chances of someone from that pack catching the athlete in the lead are almost 99 percent.

The pack let Meb go. The favorites were content to let him wear out.

“There was definitely stress. Did I go too fast? Did I leave too soon? » said Meb. “But I remember saying to myself, ‘They’re making the biggest mistake of their lives.’ “

By the time Marty Walsh crossed the finish line, Meb reached Heartbreak Hill with a full minute between him and his competitors, and six more miles between him and history.

It’s been a busy week for the new mayor, overseeing his first Boston Marathon under unique circumstances and unprecedented security. At a memorial service on a rainy afternoon, six days before the race, he visited the families of the victims.

He had already met the Richards, but Lingzi Lu’s parents were from China, Sean Collier’s mother and stepfather were there, as well as Krystle Campbell’s parents. Joe Biden, then vice president, spoke.

Walsh didn’t know what to expect from the weekend, and especially race day.

“I wonder,” Walsh said, “what it’s going to be like. Is it going to be dark?

Walsh had his answer when he arrived at Boylston Street. The crowds were larger than ever, noisier than ever, more joyful than ever; not just on Boylston and Hereford, but all the way.

That was also a good thing. A few kilometers from the finish, Meb was in difficulty.

“That Citgo sign couldn’t come fast enough,” he said with a laugh.

The chasing pack had closed the gap to just 10 seconds by mile 24. With a mile to go, Wilson Chebet was six seconds behind. Meb kept looking back, trying to gauge the margin. He considered lifting his foot to save some energy for one last kick, but Meb knew that if Chebet caught him, all momentum would be lost.

“I’m like, ‘Man, if he felt good, he’d be with me,'” Meb said. “’But he must be in pain. Am I ready to suffer a little more? »

Meb was at his limits, physically and mentally. Every muscle fiber was tense, the third-degree burn on the bottom of his left foot was screaming, and any further effort seemed to end with him throwing up on Commonwealth Avenue.

“It felt like his body was falling apart a little bit,” said Hawi, whose nerves were torn apart as he watched the event unfold on television inside the Fairmont Copley.

Meb took the right turn violently on Hereford, trying to open a gap when Chebet couldn’t see him. He hit the tangent at the corner of Hereford and Boylston, crossed himself and found another outfit.

Halfway to Boylston, he knew he had it. The crowd did the same, chanting “USA! UNITED STATES!” accompanied Meb to the finish. His racing outfit was red, white and blue. Four names were written on his bib, one in each corner, in black Sharpie: Martin, Sean, Krystle, Lingzi.

“They were also part of his journey,” Hawi said.

He lifted his glasses and brandished his right fist, then his left. He signed the cross one last time, as he passed the site where the first bomb exploded a year and six days earlier, and opened his arms as he broke the ribbon.

“It was the thrill of a lifetime,” Meb said.

His wife Yordanos reached him first, almost knocking him over. Meb hugged finish line coordinator Tom Meagher, then McGillivray, before bowing to either side of Boylston as the words boomed over the loudspeaker: “Your 2014 Boston Marathon Men’s Champion : Meb Keflezighi from the United States!

“That’s when it hit me,” Meb said. “And I just went to tears.”

He stood on the podium, an American flag draped over his shoulders. Walsh placed the golden crown on Meb’s head, worried as it slipped, its wearer wobbling with exhaustion. Tears flowed again to the sound of the national anthem.

He had been expelled from war-torn Eritrea at the age of 11, grew up in San Diego, and was naturalized a U.S. citizen two days before Independence Day in 1998. He was an American not by birth, but first by circumstances, then by circumstances. choice.

“It’s the American dream,” as Hawi says.

Meb’s victory was not the end of a triumphant day in Boston; it was the beginning. Buzz around his achievement, that an American had won the marathon for the first time in 31 years, spread through the peloton. Runners climbing Heartbreak Hill could see a makeshift sign reading “Meb Won!” Not really!”

A record group of 36,000 people followed in Meb’s footsteps, each with their own reason, their own story. Wittenberg was among those who felt a sense of duty to be there that day.

“You just wanted to cry, with pride and joy,” she said.

Some survivors of the 2013 attack, who had lost limbs and faced a grueling recovery, chose to return to take the finish line back to Boston. Patrick Downes wheeled his handbike through the Wellesley Scream Tunnel. Sydney and Celeste Corcoran ran the last block, hand in hand. Adrianne Haslet hugged Jeff Bauman at the finish line.

A year after an unspeakable tragedy, these survivors say it’s okay to smile. It was good to celebrate. It was good to be happy.

“The way I describe it is this: On April 15, 2013, Boston and the world wrapped their arms around the victims of the bombing,” Walsh said. “And on April 21, 2014, the survivors, the families who lost loved ones, put their arms around us. »

Calm only descended on the course for 60 seconds, at 2:49 p.m., when the first explosion had shaken the race, the city and the running community within it. Boston held its breath, waited until the clocks passed 2:50 p.m., exhaled and roared louder than it had all day.

“That day and the weekend leading up to it…it was pretty emotional,” Walsh said, pausing for several seconds, holding back tears. “But it was incredible. The buzz in Boston… People came from all over the world. And they were racing for Krystle, Lingzi, Martin Richard and Sean.

“It was amazing. It was healing.

Meb retired from competitive marathon running in 2017, but his connection to the city and its famous race has only grown stronger.

Meb raced in 2018 for the MR8 team, founded in memory of Martin Richard. He is running again on Monday, 10 years after his coronation, for the MEB Foundation – for which Martin Richard’s brother Henry led New York in November.

People still remember where they were when the darkest day of the Marathon was followed by the happiest day. People remember where they were when Meb won the marathon.

“I think that’s what makes it seem like yesterday, because people are still talking about the memorable moment that we all had,” Meb said. “Of course, for me it was memorable. This gives me goosebumps.

“And for the city, I hope it brought you some healing.”