A Dark Day in Boston

Three Years Ago

Three years ago Naomi, our 16 month old Oliver, and I jumped on a plane to Boston. I had qualified for the Boston Marathon!  We checked into our hotel, met up with my best friend Josh and had a great pasta dinner.  I didn't sleep that night.  Josh and I met up and we caught the bus to the start in Hopkington. We waited with 37,000 other runners, met people from all around the world, and then headed to the start.

Now I am not that fast, but I ain't slow either.  I can run a marathon in 3 hours, which typically means I finish in the top 100 in most marathons.  This means I run by myself for most of the race, maybe running with a few people once in a while. Even in larger races like New York or Chicago, I would still be pretty far up in the pack.  But in Boston you are surrounded by thousands of people who are faster or just as fast as you (most people have to run a qualifying time to get into Boston).  I mean I was beat by a guy dressed up as Miny Mouse.

And the people of Boston.  They are amazing.  I mean really they are unbelievable  At most marathons there are a few people cheering every now and then with a bunch of family and friends at the finish. But at Boston there is an entire city cheering for you.  You absolutely cannot hear yourself think for the last 5 miles.  You still hear the screaming when you go to bed that night.  It is the most amazing feeling.  There are people 20 deep, people high up in the trees.  They are cheering for you.  Most of them know nothing about running and could really care less about the elite runners.  That day they cared about the women from Canada behind me (I heard "GoCanada!" at least 100 times) and the couple who wore shirts that said "Just married!" (the wife beat me, but I beat the husband).  When you make that turn on Boylston you feel like you are running onto the field at the super bowl.  The people, the noise, the energy. It was without a doubt the most amazing athletic experience of my life.  And best of all your beautiful wife and your 16 month old son are waiting for you with a sign at the finish line, sharing in this amazing experience.

Then a bomb explodes.  And everything changes.

There was no bomb 3 years ago.  I crossed the finish line, got my medal, found Josh (who beat me by 20 minutes or more), then find my wife and kid, and headed back to the hotel.  It would have never crossed my mind that competing in a marathon would endanger my life and the life of my wife and kids.

But that is exactly what happened today. Today the greatest day of many peoples athletic lives was obliterated by someone who was full of hate.  Today children died, people lost their legs, lives are forever changed.

Life is like this I guess.  One day you are coming home from the Redsox game and boom everything is different.  I have run every day (except the day I forgot) for 7 years and I have never taken a day of running for granted.  On almost every run I have the thought "this could be it, the last one."  I have been so lucky to have the opportunity to run every day.

Today I have felt intense anger and sadness, as well as a little guilt and anxiety.  But as these intense emotions pass, I am reminded that change is the only constant and that every day is best spent living it to it's fullest. Whether you suffer from diabetes, cancer, the flu, depression, or you are just having a bad day, make the most out of every day you are given.

Today I put on my Boston Marathon shirt and went for a run.  About 10 minutes into the run the sky turned black and it hailed like hell.  After surviving the hail, I stopped looked up and saw the most amazing rainbow.  Within minutes the rainbow was gone and I ran home soaked to the bone. I got home, still sad and angry about what happened today, but still so grateful that I could run today, that I had the chance to have this amazing experience on my run today.  Grateful that I was able to run the Boston Marathon and that the amazing city of Boston has a special place in my life. Grateful that I have my family and friends. Hopeful that I will be able to run again tomorrow. Hopeful that I will be back running the Boston Marathon soon.

For now, I am only weeks away from running the Vancouver 1/2 marathon.  My training is going well, ran 24.5 miles this weekend, 6 more today.  I think things will go well at Vancouver and think I am on my way to a great summer of training and fundraising for Type I Diabetes research.

Thanks again to everyone who has supported my fundraising efforts, especially Sterling and Serena who were very generous with their donation a couple of weeks ago.