Boston Marathon

Crazy.

Insane.

Wrong.

Unimaginable.

Impossible to understand.
Overwhelming.

These are but a few of the many emotions running through my head today as I read about the bombing at the Boston Marathon.

I can't imagine qualifying for Boston and having something like this happen to ruin the experience. I can't imagine watching someone run the dream of their lives only to have it end in horror.

Crossing the finish line and having your legs blown off and your life forever changed?

Cheering on a friend or family member and dying watching? Or being critically injured?

Being further back in the pack and not getting a chance to cross -- understanding why not, but still a loss to a dream?

Crossing the finish line earlier and wondering "what if?"

When you talk about running Boston it will always be "the year the bombs went off" and not "the year I finally qualified."

Knowing someone involved and wondering where they were when the bombs exploded. Are they safe?

Is this the end, or will they find more bombs tonight?

Why do the crazies have to ruin life for the rest of us?

In honor of the runners, I decided today to sign up for this Sunday's Rutgers 8K run. Even though I have friends running it, and it is at my alma mater, I was not even on the fence about it. I was not planning on doing it at all. Now I want to be part of the running community so we can stand together and show we are stronger than the bad guys.

Someone suggested on the PBRC board that tomorrow (Tuesday) we all wear shirts from past races (or from Boston) to show the world just how many runners exist. I will probably never qualify for Boston, but tonight I am proud to call myself a runner. 

Update from April 16: wearing my Disneyland Half Marathon shirt and Sparkle Skirt as I ran 4 miles in the area. Will change into a clean and dry running shirt to wear the rest of the day. Good is always stronger than evil. 

Update from April 17: http://runningatdisney.com/2013/04/16/running-for-boston/ is a great source for reading about the feelings of the running community as we each process what happened in Boston. It is a compilation of different blogs, including The Pillsbury Press. It includes pictures of people running for Boston.