Meb Keflezighi wins emotional Boston Marathon one year after tragedy

"I was careful not to beat myself up because I thought I needed to be able to finish strong," he said. Keflezighi felt tightness in his quads at mile 21, and

Meb Keflezighi crosses the Boston Marathon finish line 11 seconds ahead of the second-place runner :: TIMOTHY A. CLARY/Getty Images

"I was careful not to beat myself up because I thought I needed to be able to finish strong," he said. Keflezighi felt tightness in his quads at mile 21, and felt as though he was going to throw up at mile 22, but then he found his kick. "At this point in my career, holding back on training actually helped me at the end of the race. I felt fresher."

Meb Keflezighi wrote the names of the four victims from the 2013 bombings in the corners of his race bib :: Steven Senne/AP

"It was very emotional to see what happened in the city," he said. "Then to watch the people come back so strong and pull together so much, I knew I wanted to be here for Boston. Honestly the finishing touch for me that helped me make my decision was seeing the Red Sox win. I don't know if I was a fan before, but how could you not cheer for Boston? What did that mean to everybody? It meant so much. If I had one more moment in my career, I wanted it to be here. I really wanted it as much as anything in my career ... A year ago we were helpless. We started crying. We both cried again today, but this time they were tears of joy."