I Run And Now I Run For Boston

Since I pride on being able to call myself a runner, and running is the ONLY thing that I will take time and do for myself, the events at the Boston Marathon have really affected me.

I know that terrible things happen in the world, and I am always saddened and trouble by heinous acts that happen on a daily basis (so much I rarely watch the news,) but this one really got to me.

Since I have run a number of race events, my last half marathon was two weeks ago, I felt sheer horror when I saw what happened at the Boston Marathon. I had been watching the race online since it started. I watched the men’s, women’s and push winners cross the finish line. I asked my hubby if he thought Boston was a realistic goal for me. I dreamed.

And then the bombings occurred. I immediately knew what it felt like to run in a race knowing that your loved ones were waiting at the finish line. I couldn’t imagine being in the situation. My heart broke and my stomach turned over.

After some time, I had to turn the television off.

I am going to cut to the good part. And there is one. During times that seem to be the very darkest, humans always pull together to help part the clouds and let the sunshine in. So many events popped up via social media to honor, to unite, and to take a stand. I wanted to do them all.

I came across a movement called Run For Boston. It was simple, and I liked that. There were three things to do. First, run. Second, wear blue or yellow on your run. Third, make a Run For Boston sign with the name of your city on it and upload it to the Facebook page. Easy peasy.

Runners for Boston - Long Beach, CA

On Wednesday night, a group gathered at a local park. Some were part of my Galloway running group. Others just wanted to Run For Boston. We are now all friends. We had our strollers, our dogs, and the kids. It was a family affair.

We walked and ran for Boston along with thousands across the country.  We put Long Beach, CA on the map for Run For Boston.

I don’t know why I am always surprised at the compassion and love of others. I was tickled that strangers chose to come out on their own to take a run in honor of the Boston Marathon Bombings. We even had people at the park thank us for doing what we are doing.

Most importantly, our kids got to see the good that can come out of people. With the terrible events monopolizing the news, it is important that they know that love does prevail, as does compassion and strength.

There were other groups that came together this week for the same reasons. Some running groups gathered hundreds while some runners grabbed their neighbor. But to me, numbers don’t matter because in this event, we are all united for Boston.