I’m having a really hard time getting my mind around what happened yesterday at the Boston Marathon, for a lot of reasons. It makes no sense to me that something like this happened, and they have no suspects or any idea what happened. I just read that they actually did a bomb sweep before the race started and then right before the first finishers came across the line – I had no idea that this was part of race prep, and it’s absurd that it’s even necessary. Apparently it is, although it didn’t help in this case.
I’m also shocked at the cruelty of targeting people who are completing a major accomplishment, or the people who are there to encourage them and celebrate with them. It’s devastating when these things happen no matter what the circumstances are, but this situation just seems like a unique kind of evil. I always think of runners – especially marathon runners – as some of the best people there are, at least on certain levels. I keep wanting to point out that it makes no sense to go after these people (or the people there to support them, who apparently are really the ones who suffered injuries) – but none of this would make any sense to me no matter who was attacked.
It’s always upsetting when people are attacked anywhere, but my mind can’t process that many tragedies. It’s the ones that hit closer to home that creep in and really get to me. The mall shooting in Portland this fall was bad, but an attack on the sport I love feels even more personal. I’m angry at the loss of life and the physical injury first, and second I’m angry at the theft of the joy, accomplishment, and victory that should come with the Boston Marathon. I hope all the runners are able to remember how hard they worked and what they accomplished.
I’m sad that I don’t have a race shirt to wear today to show my solidarity and support for Boston, but I will definitely be thinking it! I’m also extremely thankful to my Boston/runner friends for being on top of their Facebook duties and quickly posting about their safety yesterday. It definitely helped anxiety levels stay down.
To anyone who ran yesterday, have a good mental/physical recovery!
4 Comments
Great post, Colleen, thank you. You really summed up a lot of what I felt yesterday in the midst of it all.
Thanks Emily – that must have been crazy to be there. I liked the comments you had in that article you posted on FB too. Nice work on your awesome time – I’m happy you ran fast and could get past the finish line early!
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