Thousands of runners have observed a moment of silence at the start of the London Marathon to remember the victims of the Boston bombings.
The poignant 30-second tribute was followed by applause as Mo Farah and other competitors gathered at the start line for the elite men's and mass race.
Many of the 36,000 fun runners, athletes and fundraisers wore a black ribbon as a mark of respect to those affected by the attack.
Tsegaye Kebede of Ethiopia won the men's race, while Priscah Jeptoo of Kenya won the women's event.
Before the start, event commentator Geoff Wightman said over loud speakers: "Marathon running is a global sport. It unites runners and supporters on every continent in pursuit of a common challenge and in the spirit of friendship and fellowship.
"This week the world marathon family was shocked and saddened by the events at the Boston Marathon."
The marathon has drawn thousands of people The 30 seconds of silence appeared to be widely observed.
Virgin London Marathon has pledged to donate £2 for every finisher to The One Fund Boston, which was set up to raise money for the victims of the explosions.
Security has been stepped up for the event, which takes place less than a week after the Boston Marathon bombings.
Barbara Stephenson, charge d'affaires at the US Embassy in London, told Sky News the show of respect by London Marathon runners for the Boston victims underlined the "special relationship" between the two countries.
"We've had responses from Her Majesty the Queen, all through Twitter from the British people, and now we have got tens of thousands of London Marathon runners wearing a black ribbon in solidarity with the people of Boston."
She went on to say that "it's moments like this when you know what the special relationship's really all about."
Three people, including an eight-year-old boy, were killed at the Boston Marathon blasts and scores were injured, some seriously.
Even with one of the suspects dead and the other now in custody, hundreds of extra police officers have been deployed to reassure the runners and spectators.
The Met has been in close contact with the FBI and Boston Police, and there were no suggestion of any link with the bomb attacks.
Police said the increased security was aimed at reassuring the public and was not a response to a specific threat.
Priscah Jeptoo posing for photographers after winning the women's race Malcolm Baker, a former Police Counter-Terrorism Officer, told Sky News: "The main objective of the police is to provide reassurance and public safety for both the runners and spectators, and secondly it will be to deter any copycat attacks."
Despite the 40% increase in police presence, the marathon maintained its happy atmosphere, with many runners turning out in fancy dress.
The winding route from Black Heath to Buckingham Palace takes the runner past some of the capital's most famous landmarks, with tens of thousands of people lining the streets to watch the runners.
Farah, the Olympic 5,000m and 10,000m champion, ran about half of today's race, stepping off the course at the 13.1 mile mark near Tower Bridge.
He described the atmosphere as "incredible".
He revealed before the event that he had overslept. "I'm late! I woke up late! I'm going to miss the bus!" he joked.
Mo Farah says he overslept ahead of the race However, the build-up to his participation in the marathon had been shrouded in controversy as he will be paid a reported £425,000 for taking part in the 2013 and 2014 events.
But Farah, who won the mini-marathon event three times in a row between 1998 and 2000 as a schoolboy, has said the race brings back plenty of happy memories.
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