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人生一定要有的八個朋友: 推手(Builder)、 支柱(Champion)、 同好(Collaborator)、 夥伴(Companion)、 中介(Connector)、 開心果(Energizer)、 開路者(Mind Opener)、 導師(Navigator)。 chutze@bostonorange.com ******************* All rights of articles and photos on this website are reserved.
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MAYOR WALSH ANNOUNCES NEW STATE GRANT TO BOOST FORECLOSURE PREVENTION PROGRAMS
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Funding will expand programs; cites drop in foreclosure petitions in Boston
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BOSTON - Tuesday, April 17, 2018 - Mayor Martin J. Walsh today announced the Boston Home Center (BHC) has been awarded a $190,000 grant for its work on foreclosure prevention. The grant, from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts' Division of Banks, is part of $1.5 million in statewide grants from the Division of Banks that will fund first-time homeownership counseling programs and foreclosure prevention education centers throughout the Commonwealth. The City's grant funding will be applied to its foreclosure prevention and home preservation counseling programs.
"I am proud of the progress we've made on preventing foreclosures, and this grant will help the Boston Home Center continue its important work, making sure homeowners are able to stay in their homes," said Mayor Walsh. "I want to thank the Commonwealth for their partnership and the important progress we have made creating stable housing for families in Boston. Boston will continue to be a city that works to strengthen and support its middle class."
The announcement of the new funding award comes as the City's Department of Neighborhood Development (DND), which tracks foreclosure data, released its latest Foreclosure Trends Report. The released report notes that from 2016 to 2017, foreclosure petitions -- the first step in the foreclosure process -- decreased by 22 percent, while completed foreclosures decreased by 15 percent.
The Boston Home Center's foreclosure prevention and intervention services have been extremely effective. Among the top ten most populous Massachusetts cities, Boston ranks ninth in the rate of foreclosure petitions and foreclosure deeds per 1,000 residential parcels, while Boston's foreclosure petition rate and foreclosure deed rates are 30 percent lower than the statewide rate for petitions and less than half the statewide rate of foreclosures, respectively.
Working with community partners, the Boston Home Center identifies and proactively reaches out to homeowners early in the foreclosure process, before homeowners are either petitioned or foreclosed upon. As a result, the Boston Home Center and its partners in the non-profit community were able to successfully prevent 262 homeowners from being foreclosed upon in 2017.
The BHC will use these new funds to:
The new grant will also help fund partner non-profit agencies who provide regional foreclosure prevention counseling services, and help those agencies better market their prevention programs. Non-profit partners provide free confidential foreclosure counseling to Boston homeowners.
Helping homeowners make sound financial decisions has proven to be the most effective way of keeping foreclosures in check and stabilizing Boston's housing market. To that end, Boston Home Center serves as a one-stop resource for Boston residents, providing them with the tools they need to purchase a new home, helping homeowners with needed repairs, and counseling homeowners who are facing credit or financial problems.
Building on his commitment to make housing more accessible to all, and to assist those experiencing housing crisis, last week Mayor Walsh proposed additional housing investments in the Fiscal Year 2019 budget proposal. Through the Office of Housing Stability, which aims to support renters in housing crisis, preserve tenancy and prevent displacement, Mayor Walsh is proposing investments to expand the capacity and effectiveness, including:
To date, the Walsh Administration has committed more than $100 million in funding to the creation and preservation of affordable housing. Today's announcement builds on the City's preservation and anti-displacement goals, outlined in Housing a Changing City: Boston 2030, Mayor Walsh's housing plan, and the housing goals laid out in Imagine Boston 2030, Boston's first citywide plan in 50 years. As part of both plans, Boston has prioritized increasing the overall housing supply, with a focus on creating and preserving affordable housing.
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2018波士頓馬拉松賽女子組冠軍Desiree Linden戴上桂冠後被記者包圍。(周菊子攝) |
麻州州長查理貝克(Charlie Baker)為女子冠軍加冕後,被記者們撂在一旁。(周菊子攝) |
2018波士頓馬拉松賽男子組冠軍川內優輝。(周菊子攝) |
Name
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Time
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Citizenship
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1
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Yuki Kawauchi
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2:15:58
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JPN
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2
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Geoffrey Kirui
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2:18:23
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KEN
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3
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Shadrack Biwott
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2:18:35
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USA (California)
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4
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Tyler Pennel
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2:18:57
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USA (North Carolina)
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5
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Andrew Bumbalough
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2:19:52
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USA (Oregon)
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6
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Scott Smith
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2:21:47
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USA (Arizona)
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7
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Abdi Nageeye
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2:23:16
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NED
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8
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Elkanah Kibet
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2:23:37
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USA (Colorado)
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9
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Reid Coolsaet
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2:25:02
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CAN
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10
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Daniel Vassallo
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2:27:50
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USA (Massachusetts)
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Name
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Time
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Citizenship
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1
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Desiree Linden
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2:39:54
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USA (Michigan)
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2
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Sarah Sellers
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2:44:04
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USA (Arizona)
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3
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Krista Duchene
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2:44:20
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CAN
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4
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Rachel Hyland
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2:44:29
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USA (Massachusetts)
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5
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Jessica Chichester
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2:45:23
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USA (New York)
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6
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Nicole Dimercurio
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2:45:52
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USA (North Carolina)
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7
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Shalane Flanagan
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2:46:31
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USA (Oregon)
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8
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Kimi Reed
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2:46:47
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USA (Missouri)
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9
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Edna Kiplagat
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2:47:14
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KEN
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10
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Hiroko Yoshitomi
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2:48:29
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JPN
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Name
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Time
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Citizenship
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1
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Marcel Hug
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1:46:26
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SUI
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2
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Ernst Van Dyk
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1:47:14
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RSA
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3
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Daniel Romanchuk
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1:50:39
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USA (Illinois)
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4
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Masazumi Soejima
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1:54:16
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JPN
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5
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Patrick Monahan
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1:54:22
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IRL
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Name
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Time
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Citizenship
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1
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Tatyana McFadden
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2:04:39
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USA (Maryland)
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2
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Susannah Scaroni
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2:20:01
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USA (Illinois)
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3
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Sandra Graf
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2:26:32
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SUI
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4
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Aline Dos Rocha
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2:31:18
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BRA
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5
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Arielle Rausin
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2:32:24
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USA (Illinois)
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Name
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Time
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Citizenship
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1
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Abdi Abdirahman
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2:28:18
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USA (Arizona)
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2
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Shaun Frandsen
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2:34:56
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USA (Washington)
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3
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Charlie Brenneman
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2:35:47
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USA (California)
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4
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John Sharp
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2:36:08
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GBR
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5
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Bryan Rusche
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2:37:32
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CAN
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Name
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Time
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Citizenship
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1
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Krista Duchene
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2:44:20
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CAN
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2
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Dot McMahan
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2:48:57
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USA (Michigan)
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3
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Joanna Bourke Martignoni
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2:53:19
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AUS
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4
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Jessica Draskau Petersson
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2:57:29
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DEN
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5
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Brenda Hodge
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2:58:50
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USA (Pennsylvania)
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靠近終點站前有大螢幕轉播賽況。 |
波克萊台灣商會前會長蘇鴻昌撐傘為台灣跑者加油。(周菊子攝) |
台灣跑者加油團在蘋果店對面綁上國旗。(周菊子攝) |
推輪組跑者衝往終點站。 |
警察也都穿上雨衣。 |
一大早九點就趕到現場加油的熱心民眾和經文處人員。(周菊子攝) |
波克萊台灣商會前會長劉秀春也趕來加油。 |
波克萊台灣商會現任會長楊羅東(中)和年輕小朋友也來為台灣跑者加油。 |
川內優輝奪得男子組冠軍。 |
輪椅組的裝備,有許多不同型式。 |
有些跑者索性把國旗穿在身上。 |
波士頓馬拉松賽的終點站壟罩在霧裏。 |
穿著華潤怡寶背心的跑者周吉祥(譯音),拿到號碼是 132,今年成績2小時48分齡4秒。 |
來自芝加哥的跑者,今年第一次跑波馬> 直言從沒在這種天氣中跑過馬拉松。 |
2018波士頓馬拉松共有2527人進了醫護站。 |
38歲的Wang, Juhuang。 |
來美十幾年,住在芝加哥的鄭彥廷,第一次跑波馬,下週將去倫敦 挑戰大滿貫。拿著國旗跑過終點線,他激動的眼中含淚,直言這一直 是他的夢想之一。 |
有些跑得還自在的跑者,穿過終點線後,偷空自拍留念。 |
小女生完成大賽事。 |
來自中國的跑者一身齊全裝備。 |
二點多時,跑者成群結隊的穿過終點站。 |
穿越終點線後把國旗揹在身上。 |
參加波士頓馬拉松的有不少華裔年輕女子。 |
穿過終點線了,把國旗收好。 |
強風把雨傘都吹翻了。 |