When a runner wakes up on the morning of his marathon, he will go through a routine checklist: get dressed, eat breakfast, thinking about how fast he wants to run and then depart for the starting line. One thing a runner never had to worry about is whether this would be his last time seeing his family. Unfortunately, that precedent changed after the tragic 2013 Boston Marathon bombings.
Last April 15th’s events sent shockwaves, not only through the Boston Marathon finish line vicinity, but through all of America. Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, and Dzhokar Tsarnaev, 19, constructed and detonated two bombs near the Boston Marathon finish line in their domestic act of terrorism. The two explosions lasted no more than 12 seconds in total, but that was long enough to cause mass trauma to the surrounding people. In the end, 260 people were injured- both runners and spectators- 16 people lost limbs and three innocent bystanders lost their lives.
Just as quickly as Boston was caught off-guard, authorities mounted a full scale manhunt that shut down the entire city in order to find the Tsarnaev brothers who were responsible for the attacks. After four days, and with the support of the entire country behind Boston’s finest, they found the attackers. Tamerlan was killed in the acquisition process, while his younger brother Dzhokar still awaits trial today. Once the manhunt was concluded and a distorted form of justice served, the issue of a broken Boston still lingered.
When the months progressed and the 2014 Boston Marathon approached, the running community united and rallied support for Boston and its victims. A prevalent thought on everyone’s mind was whether this year’s race was different. Will it strictly be a running race or will it be an emotional recovery?
In a recent interview with, Competitor Magazine’s, senior editor, Mario Fraioli spoke for the whole running community, saying “In any ordinary year, Boston serves as the pinnacle of marathoning for elite and age-group runners around the world. Qualifying for the race and crossing that finish line on Boylston Street represents a right of passage for many runners. None of that changes this year, but this event will transcend tradition and performance: the 2014 Boston Marathon will serve as symbol of strength, resilience, perseverance and triumph for runners and non-runners alike.”
This symbol of strength will come to fruition on April 21, when the 2014 Boston Marathon commences. On this day, 36,000 runners will pound Boston’s pavement for 26.2 miles of healing. Often running is considered a therapeutic exercise in the sense of self, but when this concept applies to an entire city, the sense of remembrance will again captivate the nation’s attention, but this time in a positive light. This year’s Boston Marathon personifies the tenacity and perseverance that America prides itself on and captures the countries ability to survive against opposing forces. We might not always know the historical impact an average day can have, but we do know that on Monday, April 21, the entire nation will be lifting up the city of Boston: remembering the victims and driving their memories forward into time.
davidohair 