Gratitude Monday: Heartbreak, but never surrender

I’m never going to be a distance runner. I’m not a sprinter, either. In my heyday, I might have been a 10K-er, and my goal was always “just finish; without puking”. These days my pace is more like a stagger, and that’s even just intervals for walking. But I love watching the people who take on any running challenge, and particularly a marathon.

I mean—dang.

It’s Patriot’s Day, so they’re running the Boston Marathon today. There will be a lot more security in place, but runners around the world have been training for the past twelve months, and Bostonians are turning out to cheer them all along the 26.2-mile route.

Because fuck anyone who thinks they’re going to pervert something like this for whatever reason. You really think you’re going to stop people who run hundreds and hundreds of miles a year to be able to compete in this event? An event with a segment called “Heartbreak Hill”?

Yeah, no.

Last year, instead of being a few seconds of footage shown on the network news shows that night, the bomb attack on the Marathon dominated the global media for weeks. And in the run up to today, there’ve been “anniversary” reports on victims, first responders, witnesses and so forth. There will probably be more news teams there than racers. But still—they’ll be running.

It’s Patriot Day, and it’s Gratitude Monday. I’m grateful for everyone—professionals, bystanders, runners—who shot into action a year ago, helping those who had been wounded get to hospital quickly and ensuring that the death toll was so low. I’m grateful for the police investigators who tracked down the bombers so that at least one of them can face the justice system of a country they obviously despise. I’m grateful for the medical and rehabilitation teams that have worked over these months with the victims to overcome their catastrophic injuries (physical and psychological).

And I’m grateful to the Boston Marathon organizers who never for a moment thought of halting or curtailing this magnificent event, which has always been about humans striving to be more than they’ve been.