Boston Marathon 2015: Top Race Pictures from Twitter and Instagram

Few activities are more symbolic of the power of the human spirit than running a marathon, and after the events of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, few sporting contests are more representative of American resilience and perseverance than the annual race.

Because of that, there were some powerful images to emerge from the 2014 edition, and the same was true for the 2015 event.

The Boston Marathon Instagram account shared this image and message Monday:

The full caption reads: "'One equal temper of heroic hearts, made weak by time and fate, but strong in will to strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.' - The last lines from 'Ulysses' by Alfred, Lord Tennyson."

It continues, "These words are engraved in the Boston Marathon monument in Copley Square."

The spirit of that message was witnessed in many ways throughout the day. ESPN shared this image and story of Rebekah Gregory, who lost her leg in the 2013 tragedy but competed Monday with a prosthetic leg:

The military was also represented in the race, and Runner's World on Instagram shared this stirring image:

Time.com on Twitter also shared a powerful picture of the survivors of 2013's bombing banding together before the race:

Of course, for all the perseverance and the patriotism on display, there was also the matter of a race to be won. On the men's side, Lelisa Desisa won his second Boston Marathon, and Oskar Garcia of The Associated Press passed along the image of him crossing the finish line, along with a tidbit about his previous victory:

CBC News on Twitter also shared an image of Desisa being awarded his trophy:

CNN on Twitter, meanwhile, shared Caroline Rotich crossing the finish line:

Rotich, amazingly, won by a mere four seconds and had to pull away from Mare Dibaba in the last few blocks of the race, as the pair were largely stride-for-stride down the stretch. In the end, however, Rotich had just a bit more gas left in the tank and was able to earn the win.

Then, there was the finish in the women's wheelchair marathon, as American Tatyana McFadden came across the finish line as the winner in a moment captured by Natalie DiBlasio of RunHaven:

Marcel Hug of Switzerland won the men's wheelchair race.

In all, a rainy day in Boston couldn't overshadow the annual event and the showing of perseverance and sheer will displayed by the survivors and the athletes alike. For the second year in a row, the Boston Marathon offered Americans the chance to not only look back and remember the victims of the bombings, but also the heroism of the volunteers and the law enforcement on that day who helped to save lives.

It was also a chance to be enthralled by the runners competing in the race and a chance to look forward to more years of the Boston Marathon.