An Awful Day

I’m not a runner, not even a little bit, but my parents are both long distance runners and my Granny is an internationally recognised racewalker. 

I grew up completely surrounded by my parent’s running club The London Pacers. When I was little, before I realised I could refuse, I ran in races. When I was older, and wasn’t allowed to refuse, dozens of weekend mornings would find my sister and I manning finish lines, water stations, and early morning race registrations. So even though I’m not a runner, the horrible events at today’s Boston Marathon hit especially close to home. As my sister said “It’s like they bombed our church".

When my Mommy ran Boston a few years ago, Daddy was in the hospital after cancer surgery and the nurses set up a laptop just for him so he could follow her as she passed the check-in points throughout the course. We were all so incredibly proud of her. Just like I’m sure the family members at the finish line in Boston were today.

I have cheered on my family and friends at dozens of finish lines, they’re one of the happiest places I remember from my childhood. A place where after physically exhausting work there were always sweaty hugs and cheers and just an outpouring of love. Some evil person ruined that for thousands of people at Boston. My heart goes out to everyone who was hurt by the heinous acts of a coward this afternoon. Everyone should hug their runners a little bit closer.