Thoughts of Boston

I’m just getting around to writing this out today as yesterday I was glued to the TV and social media for most of the day and night, and I finally have time to sit down and get all my thoughts out.

Yesterday morning started out like any other Monday morning.  I woke up, pondered calling out sick but ultimately got out of bed, got ready for the day, and headed into work.  Once I got a few things out of the way, I turned on the live stream for the Boston Marathon.  I tweeted to those who I knew were running and wished them the best of luck.  It was so amazing to me to watch the elite runners take on this prestigious course.  I chatted with friends and coworkers about the runners and knew that this was an amazing feat for anyone to take on and conquer.

After the award ceremony, my live feed went dark, so I closed out of the window.  Little did I know a couple of hours later, the Boston Marathon would forever be changed.

My Twitter feed began to blow up with reports of explosions at the finish line of the Boston Marathon.  I quickly pulled up CNN on my computer and found the live feed and was absolutely horrified at what I was looking at.  It truly looked like a war scene. 

Unfortunately I don’t really have anyone at work that I could talk to about this event, so I relied on my friends Jody and AJ to chat with online, as well as with my Twitter followers.  I fought back tears as I sat at my desk and watched them replay the explosions over and over again, getting ghostly chills all over my body every time I watched it.

I have only been a runner for a little over a year, but I understand what a big deal it is to get to the Boston Marathon.  If you aren’t familiar with races, the most common way to run is just to pay your registration fee and sign up.  Some of the larger races, such as the Peachtree Road Race, have a lottery system where participants are chosen at random.  You have to qualify to be in the Boston Marathon.  Based on your age group, there is a designated time in which you have to finish a marathon to even qualify to run in Boston.  Another way of running the Boston Marathon is by fundraising, and we aren’t talking a couple hundred dollars.  People raise THOUSANDS of dollars for charities that are near and dear to their hearts, and they run in honor of those involved with these charities.

The camaraderie I saw on Facebook and Twitter from runners throughout the world was heartwarming.  No matter how fast or slow we are, whether we are newbies to the sport or have been competing and running for years.  None of that mattered – we came together as a community…as a family…in support of the Boston Marathon runners and spectators. 

It angers me so much that someone could have that much hatred in their body to want to injure innocent people who are doing nothing more than cheering on friends and family members as they crossed the finish line of one of the most proud moments of their running career.  And to take away what should have been an amazing experience away from runners who have trained for years to make it to this point, and those that have worked so hard to raise money for their charities, is very troubling to me.

But runners are resilient.  The city of Boston is resilient.  This senseless act of violence will not stop us from toeing up to the start line and crossing the finish line with our heads and hands held high.  Whoever was behind this cowardly act has not won.  Thousands of runners across the country wore race shirts today in honor of the tragic event that happened in Boston, including myself -

Many more ran various distance and times in honor of those affected in Boston.  My knee has been tight ever since my double race day so I have yet to run for them, but I do plan to honor them on Saturday during the Dirty Girl Mud Run.

I am very thankful that those I knew who were running were unharmed, as well as their friends and family.  I am keeping those spectators that were not so fortunate in my thoughts and will carry them with me on many future runs.

I apologize if this post is kind of all over the place, but I wanted to get my feelings out, and since most of my readers are fellow runners, I figured what better place than my blog.  Much love and virtual hugs to you all.

Until next time,