For Boston We Run!

Photo Credit: cnn.com

There have been a few events in my adult life that have impacted the way I look at my existence. These events have made me rethink my perspective and question how I live every day. The first was 9/11 obviously. I seriously doubt anyone with the comprehension to realize what happened that day has viewed the world the same way they did on September 10th 2001. The second event that shook my world was the massacre that took place at Virginia Tech in 2007. I was in my senior year of college at the time. I felt such an intense connection to the event and the students affected that I mourned the loss as if each of them were my own friends. I couldn't look at the halls of my school the same way. I felt a jolt of terror each time I heard raised voices or a sudden noise outside my classrooms. It was such a spectacular injustice that these kids who were my peers, who were on the precipice of the rest of their lives, had their time on this earth cut short so soon.

It has been only four days since the bombs went off on the streets of Boston. This was to be a day of pure joy. Thousands of people gathered from all over the world to accomplish such an incredible feat of physical and mental strength, pushing their bodies through 26 miles. As someone who dreams of one day crossing that same finish line, while huffing my way through local 5k's, I have such a burning admiration for these people. And on the day of what was supposed to be the culmination of months or even years of training each of those runners' worlds came to a complete stand-still as the streets shook from the blast of the bombs. Precious lives were cut short, hundreds were maimed and their lives changed forever.

I think of a runner who possibly had only moments earlier celebrated crossing the finish line of the Boston Freakin' Marathon for cryin' out loud, one of the most spectacular races in the whole world, only to have her leg blown off because she happened to be standing too close to that trashcan. What kind of sick twist of fate is that? How can something so fucking terrible happen to these victims during such a glorious moment? It just blows my mind.

The day after this horrific tragedy I came across a post in my Facebook news feed. There was a page entitled "Run For Boston 4/17". The creators of the page were urging everyone to get out an run or walk on Wednesday April 17th as a symbol of love and support for Boston. Thousands of people responded almost immediately; it was incredibly inspiring. So when Wednesday came, a day I was due to get in a good run anyway, I had a new reason to drag my lazy ass out on that trail, a new motivation to push my body harder than I ever had before. The reason was so simple- I did it because I can. I did it because I have two legs that work, I have a heart that pumps and I have lungs that breathe. I ran for all those people who can't anymore. I ran because I never want to take my body for granted anymore! I ran because those people affected deserve to know that they have support from millions of people just like me all over this country.

Maybe some may see it as wrong to take inspiration from an unthinkable tragedy. Many people might see this as a time to mourn, and I don't completely disagree with those people. But if we can't take this as an opportunity to make a positive change in our own lives then the bombers win. After 9/11 our country was more unified then it had ever been. We mourned the loss of thousands of lives, sure, but we were not about to let our nation crumble along with those towers. This too is a time to show that we won't back down from terrorists, foreign or domestic. We may never know what the motivation was for this sick act of violence. But I know that I will probably never view my ability to run the same way again.