1,520 miles.

According to Google Maps, that is the distance between Wayne State College and Boylston Street, the finishing line for the Boston Marathon.

Connor Ryan, a Wayne State junior and a native of Rockville, R.I. is all too familiar with the traditions and culture of New England.

Although being halfway across the country, he could still feel the tragedy that struck New England on April 15.

One year ago, he sat in his dorm room as he heard from a friend that a bomb had gone off at the Marathon.

“I didn’t really think much of it. I thought it was maybe a sewer explosion like a lot of other people were thinking,” Ryan said. “But the more I watched TV and learned all the details and finding out it was a terrorist attack, I started to check in with all my friends and family back home.

“It wasn’t like ‘Are you okay?’ because I knew they weren’t at the Marathon, but it was more just ‘Wow, that happened and it was so close to home.’”

It wasn’t just a singular event that the attackers fussed with; it is an entire day, as Ryan explains.

“It’s Patriot’s Day. It’s only a Massachusetts holiday, but it is more of a holiday for New England in general,” he said. “Boston is the center of New England and the Boston Marathon is the biggest, longest running, most prestigious race in the world.”

The Boston Red Sox also take to Fenway Park early in the morning on Patriots Day, the third Monday in April, finishing up play just in time to allow fans to head down to the race to cheer on the incoming runners.

It is something that can be enjoyed by all, but can only truly be understood by those that have actually partaken in the event.

The course runs through 26.2 miles of winding roads, following Route 135, Route 16, Route 30 and city streets into the center of Boston, where the official finish line is located at Copley Square, alongside the Boston Public Library on Boylston Street.

Being only a short drive away when he’s home, Ryan has taken plenty of trips down to Boylston Street and other parts of the Marathon track. Since the bombing, he has been back twice, and it takes on a completely different meaning.

“I went back for spring break and I took my roommates there. You just stand there and look around and say ‘Wow, this is where it happened,’” He said. “It’s really a humbling thing.”

What made the Marathon so susceptible to a terrorist attack? It could be the amount of people. Over 500,000 people take in the spectacle, making it New England’s most widely viewed event.

However, anyone from Boston knows that the bombers were poking at a bear, and at 2:49 p.m. on April 15, that bear was awakened.

In the wake of the attacks, some of the professional teams that make up Boston took a stand. And for New Englanders, even Ryan, it was something special to behold.

“The first team to play after the Marathon was the Bruins, and I remember watching the national anthem on my computer,” Ryan said. “Rene Rancourt sang about the first four words and the crowd sang the rest. It was just really special.”

However, most people know that Boston is a baseball town, so what everyone wanted to see was Boston’s first game back inside the confines of the green monster.

The Red Sox were supposed to play a day earlier, but the game was postponed due to the manhunt commencing in Watertown for the bombers.

Even after the manhunt was over, fear ran deep inside many New Englanders.

“One of my friends actually wanted to go to the game, but his parents didn’t know because they were still afraid,” Ryan said.

Before the game, the Red Sox brought all the players out on the field, in special home uniforms that didn’t say Red Sox, but read Boston instead.

Although none of that really hit home until David Ortiz, current player and three-time World Series Champion, took to the microphone.

He finished his speech with this message to Boston and the world: “This is our [explicative] city.”

According to Connor, his mother, Susan, said it best, “That’s what everybody was thinking.”

The rest of the season was a special one for Red Sox nation, bringing out Marathon victims and heroes to throw out first pitches and honor those people.

Boston made it into the playoffs, and carried the Boston Strong 617 message all the way to the World Series and clinched it at Fenway, the first time since 1918.

During the celebration parade through Boston, the team made an important stop along the way: in the middle of Boylston Street, at the finish line of the race. They placed the World Series trophy on the finish line with a jersey wrapped around it saying, “Boston Strong 617.”

“People can knock professional sports and say it’s not that important. It’s true in some regards, but in times like that sports can really come through and matter the most,” Ryan said.

This year’s Boston Marathon is expected to be one of the largest. With 36,000 runners, it is to be the second-largest in its history, only trailing the centennial event.

What does Connor expect from this year’s Marathon on Monday?

“It’s going to be a party.”

One thing is for sure: he will be watching from afar.

1,520 miles away.