As we have all heard, two bomb explosions occurred close to the Boston Marathon finish line yesterday where runner's families and spectators stood around about four hours into the race when many runners were still expected in. That morning I woke up to watch the marathon live because my friend Cortney Martin from Blacksburg, VA was there. I was hoping to spot her among the thousands and thousands of participants. I worried about her all day long wondering how her run was going. I took my 7 year old daughter to Girls on the Run and ran some errands and had just gone to the feed store to buy horse feed when I spoke on the phone with a friend who told me what happened.
The first thing I thought of ofcourse, was "How is Cortney? Where is Cortney? Is she ok?". I tried to call her with no luck of reaching her. I called our coach to see if he had heard from her. I cried in the car and waited to pick up Eva in the school parking lot where she has her program. I knew Cortney had finished her race and had an amazing race but I had no idea if she was hanging out at the finish line and if she was ok. I did finally learn that Cortney was ok and back at her hotel - AND - she had finished with a smoking time of 3:33:53 which is an 8:10 pace!! It is truly amazing and such a wonderful thing!
I'm having a really hard time digesting this and coping with it. I'm angry and extremely saddened. My chest and heart are heavy with grief. Not only do I feel for the victims but I feel for the runners who probably don't feel like they can enjoy their marathon finish, their marathon PR, and the several thousand who did not get to pass over the finish line. So many people had trained for so long and so many people were there to do so much good! Many people were running for charities and had raised so much money. There were also people running for the 26 children who lost their lives in the Connecticut school shooting. At the 26 mile mark a banner had been placed especially for them and those running for the children had planned on running as hard as possible from that mark to the finish to represent the children running from the school.
This tragedy will change the face of racing as we know it. Security will increase at our triathlons, particularly at the National and International events. There will probably be bag checks, long lines at check-in, and possibly no spectators allowed at the finish. People will be on guard. Families may no longer feel safe at the finish line if they are allowed to be there. An 8 year old little boy named Martin Richard is one of the victims who lost his life yesterday. He was waiting for his dad to finish. Here he is with a simple statement that would make all the difference in this world of ours:
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| Martin Richard, 8 |
The reality is, is that we humans have always lived in a state and flux of violence. It seems to be who we are. It is our culture that helps us decide if we will resist carnage upon others or culture that will teach people to kill. And then there are the cases where culture teaches others to not hurt but they are too mentally unstable to control themselves. But, we as humans always rise above disaster and death and come together to help. Because that is what we as humans have inside of all of us as well. To help cope consider running to clear your mind with "Runners United to Remember" found on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/events/318199378309189/?ref=14.
This is a virtual run event, which means you can run (or walk) any distance, anywhere and at anytime. It is intended to both honor the victims as well as display an act of unity and solidarity in the running community. This was an event dreamed up by fellow Runners and you are welcome to invite anyone to join. THIS IS NOT A FUND RAISER. PLEASE be careful of scams (already) of people claiming to be raising money. A special thanks to TJ from VO2 the MAX for creating the "race" bib. Once you've completed your unity run you are welcome to post a picture to the RunJunkEes facebook page (please do not email pictures). Other runners are suggesting to wear a race shirt as well, so if you have one and you'd like to do so that would be great.
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Hold your kids tight. Tell the people you love that you love them. Enjoy today while we have it. Hold on to happiness and the beauty of this world in the presence of tragedy. Remember that change starts with us and happens in our immediate lives and you can only change one heart at a time.
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