In memory of Martin William Richard, Krystle Marie Campbell, and Lü Lingzi.
It is now 18 days since the Boston Marathon bombings and I am finally able to write about this. Five days after the event I ran my first race, the Earth Day Half Marathon in St. Cloud, MN. At the expo, I signed the giant banner bound for Boston with the #BostonStrong hashtag. I bought a shirt and a wrist band that the local running club was selling to raise funds for the One Fund Boston. There was a moment of silence at the beginning of the race, and then we started. I managed to push the thoughts from my mind and ran; losing myself in the effort, the cheering crowds, my fellow runners, and the effort.
After the race, I returned to my hotel for a quick shower before getting on the road. I had ESPN on the TV, and the live coverage of the pre-game ceremonies at Fenway Park were on. I found myself sitting on the bed watching, with tears rolling down my face. It was a week I doubt I will forget.
Now, I am a man that is normally reserved about emotions like this. I generally don’t cry, and would NEVER admit it. But I have been fairly open about this response. That said, it has taken me a long time to put these thoughts down and be willing to share them.
In 2006, I decided to start running. I was an obese 45 year old that had never run in his life, except when required by other sports. I worked hard for a while, losing about 30# and running my first races (a few 5K’s, a couple of 10K’s, three half marathons, and a full marathon at Fargo in 2007. But the injuries grew, and my training lagged. In 2011, I wanted to get back in. I had put back on 25# and lost my conditioning. Again, I started slow, and rebuilt my conditioning. I lost 73# and despite some health problems, towed the line at Earth Day in the best shape I had been in since college and at age 47, broke my personal record set at Earth Day in 2007.
During both running periods, I benefitted from the “running community”, new found friends (both in person and via email), that shared what I can only describe as outstanding love, encouragement, acceptance, and support. It didn’t matter that I was slower than many turtles, that my stride looked more like an overweight penguin than a gazelle, or that I had trouble finding running clothes in my size. There was always someone to help encourage me, answer my questions, and say keep going.
But the most important factor was my family. The love of my wife was constant, and the encouragement of my young son kept me going when the runs got hard. In November 2006, I ran an 8k cross country race that was HARD. Don’t know I would have finished, when unexpectedly, I heard a small voice yelling “Go Dad!!” It was my 5 year-old telling me he was proud of me, he believed in me, and reminding me part of why I ran was to be involved in our active future together. I finished and I still call on that memory when my body wants to slow down or quit.
Martin Richard was an eight year old boy watching the marathon when he was killed by the second bomb. His sister and mother were also grievously injured. The family loved running. The father, Bill, was not running due to injury, and they were there to support friends that were running. Jane, age 6, was excited about the medal she had received for running in the kid’s race two days before. Since the event, a photo of Martin holding his self-made sign stating “No More Hurting People -- Peace” has gone viral.
So, with a memory of my son that is 6 years old and as fresh as it just happened, I was overwhelmed with what Bill Richard and his family must be going through. I was stunned, angered, and scarred. I tried to bury my emotions rather than face them, process them, and try to understand what this means. But I knew that would not work. So, instead, I have spent time reading the responses by other runners and thinking about what I felt. And that has finally led to this post.
Here is what I want to say:
Running is a community, and these cowards attacked our community and then tried to slink away. They killed our brother and sisters, and wounded hundreds of the members of the running family. They set the bombs to go off when the “mid-packers” were crossing the line. These are people that will never win a major race. The vast majority of runners, when they line up for the start of a race, know they will not win. They run to challenge themselves, to see what they can accomplish. We may “race” against others on the course, but there is no trash talking or true competitiveness. Crossing the finish line means looking at your own time, then congratulating and hugging those around you.
Dean Karnazes summed this up in his Runner’s World blog:
Running unites us and brings us together because, in the words of the great Bill Rodgers, “We sweat the same. We struggle the same.” Running is a simple, primitive act, and therein lays its power. For it is one of the few commonalities left between us as a human race.Toeing the starting line of a marathon, regardless of the language you speak, the God you worship or the color of your skin, we all stand as equal. Perhaps the world would be a better place if more people ran.
Runners are members of the running family, joined by their love of running, rather than divided by their race, sex, age, sexual orientation, religion, etc. Running provides a bridge for us to meet, understand, and come closer with others across the world, when the vast majority of other “defining” characteristics only seek to categorize, divide, and separate us.
Hate, for any cause, only demands that we should question whether that cause is valid if it requires hate to further it. We cannot overcome injustice in this world with hate and violence. So a cowardly attack on the running community is really a cowardly attack on the best and brightest future for humanity. It is an attempt to use fear and violence to deter us from coming together to celebrate what is great and possible in each of us.
We will not stop running. We will continue. I encourage everyone to hug and love their fellow runners. Encourage them, reach out to them, bring the community closer together. Show our love and let the world know that Peace is just and we will not be deterred from our path. Reach out to others that you see on the roads, trails, and races to seek to connect, to understand each other more, and strengthen the bonds that show us an alternative to hate and violence.
I encourage everyone to participate. Run, go to a race and cheer on other runners, donate to the One Fund Boston, show your support for #BostonStrong, and follow the request of Bill Richard to pray for the victims and their families. And pray for us all!
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