So much that could be said, so much that will be said. Just adding a bit to the chatter.
A marathon finish is sacred ground. Hallowed ground. A visceral and spiritual cathartic whirlwind twisting and twisting. Of all that I have experienced in life, nothing has come close to the magnitude of a marathon finish. Triumph. Joy. Sweat and Tears. I cry at the end of every marathon.
Besides the birthing room of a hospital, or the 'Gotcha' room of an adoption, it's the most powerful moments of life. The best of human nature come forth at these finish lines.
The finish line of Boston is especially magic. It can take years of training to qualify for this historic event. It took me Ten Years to make it to this finish line, not the 3:30 it said on the clock.
To see blood on the street here, a near holy ground for runners, is a stain and a memory burn.
The immediate effect is the tragic, heart-breaking deaths and injuries caused by the twisted brains behind this.
The ongoing effect is that the same way 9/11 changed air travel, the finish of the Boston Marathon, and perhaps most any marathon, is certainly to be changed forever.
And somewhere as you read this, a runner has been extra motivated to train, just so they can run a time fast enough to qualify for the Boston Marathon. They are more determined to run this course and show that the runner's spirit, like the human spirit, will not be denied.
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5 comments:
It's a dreadful, dreadful thing that someone should do this.
There is enough tragedy in the world without man having to perpetrate these sorts of crimes against each other. I would never have dreamed that a race could be a target.
I can never imagine the feeling the runners there felt. The amount of training it took to first get to that point and then second, to be held or not even be able to finish. Great post and great perspective.
Thanks for putting into words what many of us feel.
Amen my cousin - fellow marathoner and humanitarian. As always, you write what we feel - so WELL!
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