(NECN: Scot Yount, Boston) - "We knew it could have been our families standing there, so we just wanted to help," said Frank Fumich.
And they have. Fumich and Matt Nelson decided they needed to cross the Boston Marathon finish line.
What is almost impossible to believe is that they started in Washington, 450 miles away.
"Very emotional, all along the way it is very tough," said Nelson, who lives in Florida. "Apparently, you guys have heat waves."
Fumich and Nelson used social media to raise money for the victims. At last count, they had raised more than $50,000 dollars.
"Well, I am still in shock. We've been thinking about this moment for a month now," said Fumich. "You know you come up with an idea and it just snowballs into something so massive it is hard to fathom."
Both Matt and Frank are experienced Ultramarathoners. They were relatively certain they could make the run, but so many people pulling for them and thinking about those whose lives were changed on this street forever kept them going.
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"It is very emotional I was just struggling with the heat all the way through and hoping that I wouldn't be crying like a baby when I got here," said Nelson.
"We would have quit it it would have been for an individual race, for a medal, what we usually do it for. It would be easy to quit, but it meant so much more," said Fumich.
