Boston Magazine Unveils ‘Marathon Shoes’ Cover

The inspirational photo has gone viral on the Internet.

Boston Magazine unveiled its inspiring cover for the May issue on Thursday via Twitter, and it depicts more than 100 pairs of running shoes that were used in the Boston Marathon, arranged in the shape of a heart. The words, “We will finish the race” are in the center.

The photo has since gone viral.

Two days after the Boston Marathon bombings, the magazine sent out a Tweet asking runners that ran the race to drop off their shoes at the magazine’s office — which is not far from the finish line, where the bombs went off — for a cover shoot.

About 150 pairs of shoes were brought to the magazine, and each runner was interviewed about their experience in the race. After the photo shoot, the shoes were returned. Some of the runners who were interviewed will be featured in the magazine. The rest of the stories will be on the magazine’s website.

The magazine only had two days to come up with a cover photo idea, shoot it, edit it and then send everything to the printer. Luckily the deadline was extended by a day and things worked out.

“I think it is symbolic of two things,” said John Wolfson, the magazine’s editor-in-chief, of the cover. “It says perseverance and it says unity, and I think that’s what Bostonians and the city displayed.”

For more: Runner’s World