April 2013

I am writing this two days after the Boston Marathon bombing. We still do not know at the time of this writing who is responsible for this horrific and cowardly act. We do know that three people were killed, and many more injured. I am praying that the death toll does not rise. The injuries were horrendous and life-changing.

However, there are many positive things that came out of this experience that reinforces for me the true goodness of humanity. If you watched the coverage of the bombing, you could see that many, many people ran TOWARDS the bombing site to help where they could, instead of away. Runners, after finishing 26.2 miles of running continued running towards hospitals to donate blood. The people who could not get back to their hotels were invited into the homes of the people of Boston, where they were fed, kept safe, and were helped to find their things. Everyone reached out to help, from the major corporations, like AT&T who kept their cell coverage up and available to all, to the smallest person who gave hugs.

I am very angry about this, as I suspect many of you are. But I will not cower and hide. If we do that then the terrorists win. I will continue to run. I will continue to be out there for all who can’t be. Next time you see me running through our streets, know that I am now running for all who can no longer run. Even if you do not run, even if you can only walk, or wheel, or hold a flag, do it for those who lost limbs or family. Do it to show that the bad guys do not win this round. We do.