Marathoners are an interesting breed: dedicated, intense, full of mental and physical stamina, slightly crazy, and proud of their accomplishment. They are people who train for months on end, with 4 or 5 runs per week of varying lengths just to accomplish a goal they have laid out for themselves. They do not take 2 weeks off because that will put them behind in training. They do not go out on Friday nights during training season because they have their long runs on Saturdays. They set their alarms crazy early on Wednesday mornings before work because that is their long weekday run and it's easier to get it out of the way in the morning rather than get distracted from it in the evening. They train in all kinds of weather conditions because they never know what the weather will be on the day of the race. They buy weird things like goo, body glide, runderwear, and nipple shields to make their bodies more comfortable during runs. They get runners' highs. They self-talk when they are tired but not done with their runs. They do math in their heads to keep themselves occupied. They are strong in so many ways that I can't even describe.
This is what the start of a marathon should look like. Crazy crowds, jam packed runners, lots of cameras, lots of support, and an electric atmosphere in the air. Music in different neighborhoods, water stops, tons of funny signs, some dude who decides to run in a monkey costume, all the fun things that make the spirit of a marathon a marathon!
This is what the end of a marathon should look like. Complete joy, a massive sense of accomplishment, huge hugs, and tons of cheering in the background!!
This is the antithesis of what a marathon should be: terror, runners who needed to be intubated in an ICU due to smoke inhalation, loss of limbs due to shrapnel, not being able to leave your hotel room after the race for an amazing dinner and a well deserved beer, fear, chaos, and death.
As a wife of a previous and future marathon runner, this sickens me to my core. The spectators their are family members who have also devoted their last 4-5 months for training. The runners have just put their hearts, soles, and muscles into this run. The volunteers are mostly runners who aren't running this marathon but believe in the central purpose of running a race and dedicating oneself to something.
The bombs went of 4h and 9min after the start. This is the time when the largest majority of people finish and have families at the end. To think that someone would deliberately try to kill the most civilians as possible makes me so sad. The runners are Republicans, Democrats, Christians, Aethiests, Jews, Moms, Dads, Grandparents, Daughters, Sons. They are just everyday, normal people who were in their last few minutes of accomplishing and sharing something bigger than they were. They are runners who never got to cross their finish lines after months of training. All for what? To prove that someone could kill somebody? To put fear into American's hearts? To take away someones ability to run again? To kill someone's child?
I do not, and will never, understand why or how anyone could ever think that this was okay to do. I pray that those that were there are able to heal from this both physically and emotionally. I pray for the doctors and nurses at the Boston hospitals that they can treat all the runners and get them home soon. I pray they are able to find the person/people that executed this horrid crime against humanity. I pray that those who are training for current marathons train just a little harder this week. I pray those that love their marathoning family members allow them to continue to run and train and remember that their are mostly good people in the world. I pray for peace and kindness and mouths that spread love instead of fear and hate.
