Back Up

Author:
Greg Bishop

Bill Iffrig was on an airplane when he saw himself on the cover of Sports Illustrated, knocked down by the bombs detonated at the 2013 Boston Marathon. A stewardess handed him the issue. "It was such a perfect, iconic shot," Iffrig says. "It looked like it had been staged."

In the year since Iffrig rose from the ground and stumbled sideways 20 yards to cross the finish line, dozens of people have sent him copies of that cover, requesting his signature. Others wrote letters. He has received hundreds of interview requests.

The 79-year-old retired carpenter says his hearing is damaged by the blast. But that has not stopped him from running. He still trains in Lake Stevens, Wash. Drivers wave. On June 1 he plans to run the Windermere Marathon in Spokane, his first since the bombing.

"I don't think about it every day," Iffrig says, "but I'll never forget it. I was so damn lucky."