You can learn a lot about the indomitable nature of the human spirit by training for and tackling a marathon.

• 📣 Why it matters: It's a tremendous physical feat. But standing at the finish line — watching thousands of people arrive after 26.2 miles of pain, doubt and persistence — might be even more gratifying, writes Axios' Bill Kole, a Massachusetts native and former AP foreign correspondent.

I witnessed it myself this week at the atmospheric end of the Boston Marathon.

• I've spent years chasing finish lines myself: I ran track and cross-country at Boston University. And I'm a nationally certified distance-running coach who has run 18 marathons, including three Bostons.
• In 2014, one year after bombs placed near the finish line killed three people and wounded 260 others, I live-tweeted each mile of the race for AP. That was the last Boston Marathon I ran.

🖼️ The big picture: Now, I watch. And from the sidelines, the view is somehow bigger.

🏃🏼‍♀️🏃🏼‍♂️ Monday's 130th edition of America's oldest footrace was a tableau of 30,000 sweaty success stories — often further from the spotlight than the elite runners and celebrity athletes.

• An inspiring scene I've seen at so many big-city marathons played out again in Boston: A few dozen yards from the finish, a runner's legs gave out, and two fellow competitors stopped to help him the rest of the way.

📣 Race announcer and self-described "hype girl" Ali Feller, who's being treated for Stage 4 metastatic breast cancer, spent hours shouting out midpack runners from the footbridge above the finish line.

• Another runner — barefoot — trained by running on Lego bricks and stabbing his feet with a fork. Terrence Concannon raised $13,000 for a charity.

💭 The bottom line: "If you're ever losing faith in humanity, go watch a marathon," coach, athlete and writer Mario Fraioli wrote on his blog.

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📚 Check out Bill Kole's books: "In Guns We Trust" and "The Big 100: Uncovering the Keys to Longevity."

Finish Liner Bob Schumacher snapped this shot of the majestic Pyrenees mountain range earlier this week in Aragnouet, France.

• Bonsoir, Bob!