The Boston Marathon bombings meant many runners were unable to cross the finish line. A week after the marathon, however, local joggers got the opportunity to cross a different finish line and show their solidarity with those affected by the tragedy.

Rock Body Training owner Liz Pophel-Pereira organized a three-mile run from The Cage on Route 6 in Marion. Pophel-Pereira said she thought about making it a fundraiser for victims, but decided to keep the event free this year so more people could run.

“It’s more to support the people who were there as runners and the people who were injured,” she said.

Pophel-Pereira wasn’t at the race, but said she or someone from her family could easily have been a spectator at the Boston Marathon.

Of the approximately 25 people who came out to run, six attended the Boston Marathon but were unable to complete it.

Marion resident Lori Watkins was almost at the 26 mile marker in her fourth Boston Marathon when the explosions halted the race. She didn't run for a week, but said she wanted to show her support.

"Today is the first day I felt normal," said Watkins, who doesn't plan to run next year. "It was so traumatic."

Pophel-Pereira would like to make the run an annual event, and add a fundraising element next year.