Boston Marathon 2013

I have never been to the Boston Marathon or any marathon for that matter so when Kristen suggested that we should take the boys I was all for it. I wasn't sure what to expect but it was suppose to be a nice day and an activity that would get us out of the house so it sounded good to me!

Kristen came over and we took the boys over to the park to run off some energy before we loaded them in the car. Kristen had calculated what time would be best to see the runners and miraculously when we arrived at a spot on Commonwealth Ave in Newton we saw the brigade of police motorcycles signaling that the first women's runners were about to approach. It was perfect timing and the surrounding spectators started cheering and ringing their cowbells -- everyone was coming together to motivate these runners along their journey it was pretty remarkable. As the women ran by us I was immediately moved by something that I wasn't expecting. It is still hard to describe but I was just overwhelmed with pride for each runner and amazed at what they were accomplishing as well as the community support of all of the spectators that came out to watch. I felt the same wave of emotion as the men passed us and can remember having a tear in my eye because I was truly inspired by each and every person that ran by us.

The cool shirt Jason gave Kristen and I for the marathon since New Balance was holding their events at the restaurant 

 You mean I can't run the race in Daddy's sneakers? 

 Getting ready for the marathon 

 Walking back from the park

 The woman in the red shirt and blue shorts was the actual woman's marathon winner 

 Time truck for the men's race

 The runner in the blue was the actual men's winner of the marathon 

 Cheering on the runners 

 Enjoying the 2013 Boston Marathon 

 Owen

 Ashton 

 Run Run Run

 Every runner has a story to tell... 

 Taking it all in 

This group was actually a group of drummers who played for every runner that ran by 

As we watched the runners you could tell that each one had their own story to tell and there are some moments that are just embedded in my memory. We stayed and watched for a little over an hour and as we left our spot along the marathon I remember feeling full of happiness and love. I was so happy that Kristen had suggested that we go to see the runners.

When we got home, I put Owen down for a nap, picked up a little bit, relaxed by watching my favorite soap -- General Hospital and my parents pulled in for a visit just around 2:45. We were all being quiet as Owen napped and at about 3 a breaking news story flashed across the screen. I was expecting a story about the marathon maybe a broken record or something like that, but was stunned when the reporter said that there had been two explosions at the finish line of the Boston Marathon right across from the Lenox Hotel. Vomit literally filled my throat and panic spread through me as I realized Kristen's husband was working in the Lenox hotel. At that point the news station did not have any live feed from the explosions, no one knew the extent of what happened or the damage done. Boston.com and Bostonherald.com both crashed. In an age of technology and social media, we were all kind of frozen with the unknown not knowing what was going on. I immediately texted Kristen asking if Jason was ok. She said he just texted her and said he was -- thank god. Then thoughts flowed into me of what kind of sick person would do this. This was an event meant to inspire people, bring people together, and the people that were hurt were those cheering on the runners. These were the mothers, fathers daughters, sons, friends who were elated that their loved ones were accomplishing something so inspiring. These were the people behind the scenes pushing the runners across the finish line. They were innocent bystanders that could have been you or I.

Scene from the attacks 

 Other devices were found ... Eric sent this to me and it was reported on the news about 30 minutes later. It is crazy what social media is capable of 

 The second blast 

As I continued to watch the coverage unfold and more details were released I couldn't believe that this happened in our backyard so to speak. Unlike many of the other terrorist attacks, this one effected many people that we are friends with. These are people that we see, gosh Eric did a training in the building above the first blast. It is where we have shopped many times, this is our home. It is devastating and to be honest it pisses me off that there are such sick people out in this world that want to hurt people like this. Limbs were lost, lives were lost, souls were scared and yet what you see in most of the pictures and video coverage are people running to help the injured ... which is something that we must not loose sight of.

As the horrific images flashed across the screen I thought back on the moments that I had witnessed earlier in the afternoon:

At one point a women rushed in between Kristen and I waving a pb&j sandwich right when a man came running by grabbed it and immediately we heard the women say "YESSS" and her daughter came up to her and said, "I couldn't get a picture, but you did it" and the women responded with "Did you see how happy he was?" The women was the runners mother and it was one moment that I don't think Kristen or I will ever forget. Her joy radiated off of her and you can tell just how proud she was of her son. She had managed to be at the perfect time to hand a much needed sandwich off to her son as he continued to push himself to finish the race. Both of us were aw-struck and now looking back at it I hope all three of them are ok as I am sure the proud mom and sister were probably standing at the finish line cheering him on as he finished the race.

We also saw two men tethered together by a rope probably about 2 feet long and it took us a moment to figure out what they were doing but once we looked at their running bibs we saw that one man had a bib with numbers on it and the other man had a bib stating "guide." It was like we and the surrounding spectators had all realized what was going on at the same time -- the runner was blind and being lead by a guide -- remarkable.

We also saw a group of army Cadettes in their full gear and loaded packs in hiking boots walking the marathon. As soon as they approached our area the crowd started cheering and clapping for the men and women serving our country. You could see that some of them were already feeling the effects of the long and grueling walk suffering from painful blisters but they continued on with their heads head high.

We saw a women jump out of the crowed in street cloths and start running with delight shouting uplifting cheers and words of encouragement as she joined her husband/boyfriend/brother briefly running by his side. You could see how proud she was of him and how that motivated him to keep pushing himself on his journey to the finish line.

Then we saw a handicapped women being pushed in a specialized wheelchair designed for running and I thought to myself, wow that is such a selfless and heroic act to allow this women the opportunity to experience the thrill of completing a marathon despite of her handicap. Come to find out, as we were watching the horrific events unfold from video footage of the attack, I saw the same women in front of the first blast just a few feet from the finish line.  And that's when it struck us, we saw many of these runners and many of their family members just a few hours before accomplishing something only a few people do in a lifetime and they were now directly effected by this act of terrorism.

In the end, each of the runners we saw yesterday touched my soul. Each one of them had their own story and they were running for a purpose. They were inspiring and yet just by running they were bringing thousands of people together. Perfect strangers were shouting words of encouragement, sharing in each runners joy as they poured their heart and soul into every step they slammed into the pavement. And I think that is what the Boston Marathon is all about and no matter what happened, the people responsible for this unspeakable act cannot and will not take that away. We as a community are much to strong for that and will come together and overcome this. I know I will hold a special place in my heart for each of the victims and their families that were effected by yesterdays events... who knows maybe it is just the motivation I need to run in the Boston Marathon in the future or at least stand on the sidelines and cheer on each and every runner fighting for a much bigger cause.