I logged into my Blogger Dashboard this morning and saw an influx of posts with a similar title. It's hard not to want to talk about what happened at Boston yesterday.
When I lived in Boston, my apartment was at Mile 25 of the course.
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| The view from my apartment. |
The events that unfolded yesterday absolutely crushed my soul. I may not have qualified for Boston and I wouldn't have been there running but Boston was my home. It was where I learned to run. It was where I met marathoners for the first time and committed to running one myself some day.
Every single person at that race was me. Every single person at that race was my friend. Whether a runner or spectator, every single person there was someone I could identify. Spending hours trying to track down all of my friends to make sure they were safe was awful.
The explosion happened right around the 4 hour mark. That's when I would be crossing. My mom and my boyfriend and Lord knows who else would have been at Mile 26 if I had be en there. I can't even imagine crossing the finish line of a marathon...or worse, being in the final sprint to the finish, and having to turn around and run in the opposite direction for your life. Or worse, crossing the Finish Line, seeing the explosion and knowing...that it came from where your loved ones are waiting for you to cross.
Kathrine Switzer once said, "If you are losing faith in human nature, go out and watch a marathon." Running a marathon is the shortest event by which one can experience every possible human emotion...or so I thought. Terror was never on that list. Terror is not an emotion that one should experience when running a marathon.
Boston is the biggest Finish Line in the world. I don't know a single runner that doesn't dream of crossing the line at Copley Square. Everything about this just feels so personal. It all just hits way too close to home.
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Lauren posted some incredible photos from the race before everything happened. She write in her post, what it was like to look through those photos the race:
I will never train for or run a marathon the same way again but I will run another marathon. This isn't going to stop me or anyone from running. And one day, I'll pour my heart and soul into Boston and give it back everything that was taken away from it yesterday.
To those of you who ran, I am so so sorry that this was your Boston. My heart aches for and with you.
The pictures on this post are my pictures from the 2011 Boston Marathon. It breaks my heart that a Google Image search of 'Boston Marathon' yields the tragic photos from yesterday. I don't want to post those pictures. I want to remember Boston for what Boston is...a marathon, not a crime scene.
Boston will always be ours, and that can never be taken away--we're runners :)
ReplyDeleteSo grateful for the times we had there and the great times we will have!
xoxox
I can't even believe everything that happened yesterday. Your post captured so many of the emotions and thoughts that I had about Boston as well. I'm devasted for everyone that was there, and to think that this tragic event tarnished the Boston Marathon experience.
ReplyDeletethanks so much for your post. I was there last year, and finished in 4:05. To say I have not been a wreck is an understatement. I knew many personally who were running this year, as well as many teammates who I have not met, but felt as if we were friends. thankfully, they are all OK.
ReplyDeleteThank You for your post. I worried about you. I thought you ran this marathon but I am glad to hear you are safe. I am glad you wrote a post about this it shows you are a true team member. <3 you!
ReplyDeleteIt's so tragic and I feel there is nothing I can say that is right. This tragic event showed me why I love running and I'm so proud to be a runner!
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