I Run for Boston

This week has undeniably been an emotional week. Regardless of whether you are from Boston or are a runner, the tragedies of this week have impacted everyone. 

Running for me has always been an escape, a "place" where anyone can be anything they want, or dream, to be. It's where I wrestle with bad days and tough situations and it's how I stay grounded when things get stressful. When I came home from work on Monday to see images of the world famous Boston Marathon and heard how an event that celebrates average people doing incredible things was shattered, it left my heart broken for so many different people and reasons. It was just pure unfair. How do we grapple with these things that happen for, really, no good reason? Where can we go to let our guard down and just be, when the one place I've always been able to go feels tainted? 

Sindy sent me an article written by Matt Frazier from No Meat Athlete that helped me to begin to make sense of my emotions. I shared it with other runners who I knew would appreciate having their same feelings expressed so well, knowing we weren't alone. Maybe it's because I never played a team sport growing up, but I love the sense of community there is in what is typically considered a individual sport. 

I was unsure about how to proceed the rest of the week. We've all been affected in our own ways. I feel slightly uneasy about loudly proclaiming my love, and just as Frazier noted, I wonder how I can run for people I don't even know. Nevertheless, we have all been impacted by these events, and I knew I had to just run to sort through and process it all. On Wednesday, I finally did that.

It was raining on and off during the run, which felt just right. While I think often about the impact running has had on my life, I thought about more than just that...about the connections and the kindness it brings into the world, about how so many people have already committed themselves to ensuring that the Boston Marathon is not synonymous with terror or bombing, but with love, dedication, and community, declaring that they will run it next year. 

I've always loved a Kara Goucher quote about how running allows us to see how wonderful life is....and while it feels wrong to say it, I guess that's what this run did too. We will never forget the horrific acts of that day, but we cannot give up and be defeated. We must dust ourselves off and keep going to prove that we won't let acts of terror and violence dictate our lives.