Boston Marathon Team '415 Strong' Unite Before Race Day
BOSTON (CBS) - Dozens of runners met at Davio's restaurant in Boston for a pasta dinner on the eve of the Boston Marathon.
One team called 4-15 Strong is made up of mostly bombing survivors. At least 25 of the team's runners survived the 2013 bombings.
"I'm feeling pretty good, I mean a little pre race jitters," explained Elizabeth Bermingham who was watching runners with a friend near the finish line when one of the bombs went off. She suffered minor burns and was hurt by shrapnel.
"We got pretty lucky to only sustain rather minor injuries," expressed Bermingham.
"There was a very bright flash off to my left and everything went really quiet," described survivor David Fortier.
He lost his hearing on the left side and shrapnel went through part of his foot. "I ended up on a heap on the ground over by the grandstands. We were just at the wrong place at the wrong time."
Fortier helped gather a group of survivors and co-founded 4-15 Strong.
"Now we're here making some good things happen," he said.
Their goal is to grow and heal together. Survivors say in the past three years, they've built an unbreakable bond.
"After the bombings I said never again, no no no. I'm done with running, not Boston. As time went on, I started to meet other people, I started to recover. Those bombs created a family and they created friendships that last," said Bermingham.
"There's a whole lot more good in the world than bad and you hear about it but you see the people in the room and you see the relationships that are in the room, there's a whole lot more good and we want to share that, explained Fortier.
The group hopes to participate in a cross country run and call it 'One World Strong.'
