On the day before the convicted Boston Marathon bomber is scheduled to be sentenced, about 30,000 runners took part in the annual marathon Monday, two years after a deadly terrorist attack struck the race, news sources report.

Ethiopian runner Lelisa Desisa took the top men’s spot again this year, following up on his victory at the 2013 Boston Marathon and the deadly bombings that followed, ABC News reports.

He crossed the finish line with an unofficial time of 2 hours, 9 minutes and 17 seconds.

In 2013, Desisa returned his medal to the city to honor the people who were killed or wounded, NPR reports.

Miles of fencing and heavy police patrols lined the 2015 marathon’s route, CBS News reports, along with special sensors to detect drone activity.

Rebekah Gregory, whose left leg was amputated after she was caught in one of the 2013 finish line bomb blasts, took part in the race this year using a prosthetic limb, ABC News reports.

“This time I won't be laying on the ground in pieces, or having to be assisted because I can't do things on my own,” Gregory wrote on her Facebook page. “The only thing hitting the ground will be my running shoe, as I show myself and the rest of the world that I am back, stronger than ever.”