Jean-Paul Bedard clearly remembers the ear-piercing blasts, the ominous plumes of smoke and the total pandemonium that erupted moments after two bombs went off at last years Boston Marathon. The enormity of the situation only hit home days later though, when the 47-year-old was back in Toronto looking at a video his wife had taken of him crossing the finish line -- there, in a short clip, appeared to be one of the backpacks authorities believe contained explosives which ripped through the crowd. "She was just standing there in harms way that whole time," he said of the footage the couple later sent to the FBI. "I was a bit late, an hour later than I normally am and if I had been an extra 20 minutes, she would have been right there." The realization triggered an avalanche of emotions and Bedard, an avid runner, initially vowed never to return to the Boston Marathon again. Yet, like many other Canadians, the English teacher is now heading back to the city and plans to run the course again next week. Bedard, however, plans to run the marathon not once, but twice in the same day. "I needed to go back there," Bedard said, adding he had secured permission from race authorities to run a double marathon. The twin blasts which killed three people and injured more than 260 others on April 15 last year came to symbolize a turning point in Bedards life. Just weeks before last years race, Bedard told his family about sexual abuse he suffered as a child. During the marathon, he had a breakdown and was stopped by medics but managed to convince them he was hurting mentally, not physically, and carried on. He finished the race, returned to his hotel room for a quick shower and was back outside with his wife, 100 metres away from the finish line on a parallel street when the bombs went off. When he returned home, the combined stress of his personal issues and the bombings led to Bedard being diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder. After a year of treatment, hes returning to confront the trauma and move past it. "I feel a lot of weight on my shoulders in doing this," he said. "But at the same time I feel like Im being carried by a lot of people to get through this." Bedard is among a number of Canadians who were at the marathon last year and felt the urge to participate once more. "Its something that I need to do and I want to do," said Dean Smith, a Newfoundland native who was one kilometre away from the finish line when he was stopped by race officials last year. The 46-year-old recalls trying to calm some of the panicked runners around him as word of the explosions spread. The worst part for Smith was not being able to call his mother for hours, to let her know he was safe. Smith only realized much later that a fall earlier that day, which had slowed him down considerably, likely saved him from being among the victims. "I could have very easily been at that line," he said, his voice shaking. "It really isnt sinking in until now." The blasts also made Linda Hensman realize how fortunate she was. "Every so often you need something to bring life back into perspective. To slow you down, to make you appreciate what you have," said the 62-year-old who was also stopped before she could finish the race last year. "I just wanted to go back under what I hope will be normal circumstances...I dont think you can let these events hijack your life." Race officials say 2,447 people from Canada have registered to take part in this years marathon, up from 2,032 registered last year. Four days after last years blasts, police killed one of the suspected bombers, 26-year-old Tamerlan Tsarnaev, in a shootout and captured his brother Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who was 19 at the time, soon after. Prosecutors say the Tsarnaev brothers built two pressure cooker bombs and planted them near the races finish line. The brothers had lived in the former Soviet republic of Kyrgyzstan and the Dagestan region of Russia before moving to the U.S. with their family about a decade before the bombings. Saucony Outlet Italia .com) - Patrick Reed poured in a 19-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole Monday to defeat Jimmy Walker and win the Hyundai Tournament of Champions. Saucony Scontate Uomo . The United States clinched the final berth into the Ford Worlds, March 28-April 6 at Scotiabank Centre in Halifax, on Saturday in Blaine, Minn. http://www.sauconyscontate.it/ . This weeks topics include his take on the Kevin Pillar incident, All-Star snubs, the firing of Padres general manager Josh Byrnes and more. Saucony Italia Scontate . Ashley Wagner will skate in the womens short program for a U.S. team thats in seventh place. Davis and White won the silver medal at the Vancouver Games and are two-time world champions. Saucony Scontate . With nothing tangible at stake, the Raptors turned in their most impressive outing of the fall in their seventh and second to last exhibition tilt against their stiffest competition yet, but they lost a couple starters in the process.Memphis, TN (SportsNetwork.com) - Memphis says it has punished 12 football players involved in an ugly brawl with BYU following the Miami Beach Bowl last month. The university said Tuesday the 12 players were issued stern and appropriate penalties for their roles in the fight, including suspensions ranging from a single half to two games, but did not name individual players. It said individual suspensions would be announced in conjunction with the first game next season. Memphis said in its statement that the programs worked together on the matter and that players from both teams would participate in a conference call where formal apologies will be issued. BYU did not announce any punishments, saying in a statement it was handling the matter internally. We are grateful for the cooperation and communication that has taken place between BYU and the University of Memphis in an effort to live up to the high ideals of sportsmanship to which we both aspire, the school said in an email to SportsNetwork.com. BYU also has completed a thorough review of the incident. The determined disciplinary measures are being handled internally. Memphis athletic director Tom Bowen said the university holds its students to the highest standards of sportsmanship and personal conduct. The actions of a few members of our football program in Miami were completely unacceptable, he said. I can assure our community, fans and stakkeholders that we have and will continue to hold our young men and women accountable and will use this unfortunate incident as a teaching tool for all our student- athletes moving forward.dddddddddddd Memphis issued its penalties following a review by the university and American Athletic Conference commissioner Mike Aresco. The penalties included mandatory anger-management counseling and community service hours and additional team-regulated punishments to be decided by head coach Justin Fuente and his staff. After Memphis beat BYU 55-48 in double-overtime on Dec. 22, a large on-field melee erupted in which players from both teams exchanged punches, leaving some bloodied. The brawl appeared to start with Memphis defensive lineman Martin Ifedi and BYU offensive lineman Tejan Koroma, but many other players were involved. In a blow captured live on the TV broadcast, BYU defensive back Kai Nacua punched Memphis tight end Alan Cross from behind as Cross was being held by one of his coaches. Nacua was bleeding from a cut below his left eye. Elsewhere, Memphis offensive lineman Chase Johnson was seen swinging his helmet at a BYU player and Cougars linebacker Harvey Langi appeared to throw several rapid punches at an opponent. Fuente said after the game, Its not who we are. Its not what we want to represent. I hope it doesnt take away from an incredible football game on both sides. ' ' '