(NECN) – There will be more than 35,000 participants in the 118th Boston Marathon, representing 70 countries. In addition, there will be 1,800 media members covering the race which is expected to bring about $175.8 million in economic revenue.

Jim Gallagher, EVP of John Hancock Financial, the 29 year sponsor of the Boston Marathon, joined NECN to talk about the continued growth of the One Fund for victims of the Marathon bombings.  

Gallagher is president of the One Fund, which collected 161 million dollars 75 days after last year’s bombings. In July, they distributed the money.

“We thought that would be, perhaps, the closing of the One Fund, but it has continued to come in. We have, as of yesterday, 18 million dollars more than had been contributed, and it continues. Looking to the future, we’re going to let some time pass from tomorrow’s marathon so the money can continue to be contributed and then we’ll distribute that in July,” Gallagher explained.

In addition, Gallagher looked at preparations for this year’s race and talked about how the psyche of the company has been impacted by last year’s attacks.

Three people were killed in last year's marathon bombings and an officer was killed in the aftermath. More than 260 were injured.

For up-to-the-minute news and weather, be sure to follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook.