Grieving for Boston

I am still in shock & grieving over what happened at the Boston Marathon yesterday. As a runner, the bombs hit a little too close to home. This could have been any race....

As I posted on my health & fitness page on Facebook, a race is not a one time event for runners. It is the culmination of hours of training, eating right, focusing on form, and sometimes even blood, sweat & tears. What should have been a joyful ending to a prestigious event was marred yesterday. Runners consider it an honor to run the Boston Marathon. You have to qualify to run the race & you hear rumors of Heartbreak Hill & just flying out to run a race has a certain glamorous air to it. So it is sickening to think that what should have been a joy filled event for every runner of that race was reduced to a terrifying event. To think that some runners, so close to crossing the finish line with their arms raised high & a smile on their faces, were instead thrown to the ground, hit with schrapnel and sent into a panic. It just kills me. I've heard that the bomb even seems to have been made to go OUT into the race, it didn't even go through 2 pains of glass of a nearby building, it was loaded with extra bbs just to create more damage. These were runners, their friends, their families, people who gathered to celebrate an athletic accomplishment, there was no ill will towards ANYONE running yesterday & instead those people were hurt & some even killed. It was a completely senseless crime. I don't understand why it happened.

To this end, I am fired up, even more than ever to run in Boston some day. I would LOVE to be there next year, but that would mean running a marathon this year with a qualifying time. I am not sure I can do that yet :( I am resolved to volunteer at the Chicago Marathon this year, I didn't even try to sign up, and after all of the craziness surrounding the lottery and all of that, I was glad I didn't. However, I want to support our community of runners, I want to be a voice & take a stand against these kinds of senseless acts of violence. I know it is a small act, but I am wearing a race shirt today to support the runners of the Boston Marathon. It is not much, but it is what I can do right now. I love runners, they are accepting & kind people. The crowd that gathers at races are always encouraging & uplifting, runners that finish their race, generally stick around to cheer on those that are still running. It is a good group of people & I am proud to count myself among them.