Boston Marathon Tragedy

It's been 2 days since the bombs went off near the finish line of the Boston Marathon. I thought I'd have something to say about this by now. But I don't. I still don't understand. I don't understand any of this.

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A runner ripped off his shirt to use as a tourniquet on a victim. [source]


Click here for the unedited image. Warning: it's graphic. [source]


"An unidentified Boston Marathon runner leaves the course crying
near Copley Square following an explosion." [source]


"Krystle Marie Campbell was cheering on her friend's boyfriend with another friend when she was one of three people killed near the finish line on April 15." [source]


Another "person killed in the Boston Marathon bombings was a [23 year old] Chinese graduate student at Boston University named Lu Lingzi, a state-run Chinese newspaper reported Wednesday.

A Hong Kong broadcaster reported the student was studying statistics. Lu graduated from a Shenyang high school and studied international trade at Beijing Institute of Technology before enrolling at Boston University, according to media reports, Lu's friends and her Facebook page." [source]


"The boy who was killed in the Boston Marathon bombings was remembered by neighbours Tuesday as a vivacious 8-year-old who loved to run and climb.

Martin Richard was among the three people killed in the explosions Monday, according to U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch, a friend of the family for 25 years. The boy’s mother, Denise, and 6-year-old sister, Jane, were badly injured. His brother and father were also watching the race but were not hurt.

They had gone to get ice cream, then returned to the area near the finish line. Neighbor Jack Cunningham said Martin’s father was a runner but had been injured and didn’t run the marathon." [source]

Say a prayer.
Donate blood.
Hug your loved ones.
Donate money.
Go for a run.
Sign up for a race.
Volunteer at a race.
Wear your race shirts as a show of solidarity.

Here are the words of a local coach and race director from Monday (the day of the race):

Runners across America were rocked by the blasts in Boston today. A running club today somewhere suggested, "Wear a running shirt tomorrow".

Given all the races I've run and now the races I produce, I already wear a running shirt or sweatshirt nearly every day.

But, I thought about that idea of wearing a running shirt after today to tell the rest of our world of running friends we'll not stop running. We'll run more, run farther, and volunteer more often at running events.

Wear a running shirt or sweatshirt under your suit coat, or at the end of a workday requiring a uniform. (Perhaps even post a photo on Facebook where in unusual places you may be sporting your running shirt.)

We runners celebrate life, and cherish everyone's life and liberty to run safely everywhere in America.

We'll not be frightened by terrorists so damnable as to detonate bombs along the finish line of the historic Boston Marathon on April 15, 2013, Patriot's Day.

Share this suggestion of support for runners by wearing a running shirt to work, to the pub, to wherever we go on April 16, and remember not to allow terrorists a place in the running world.

Join me in wearing any running shirt you're proud to sport tomorrow. Tell your running friends you love 'em. Tell everyone we runners will not stop all the good that's delivered all across America by runners. To life! Run on.

I wore my shirt from the Victory 10K yesterday. I would have worn a running shirt today, but I had a big meeting. I'll wear a running shirt to work tomorrow and Friday, just as a slight way to keep those injured in my thoughts / prayers.

If you're a local, show your support and help raise money through an event in Richfield. Race buddy turned race director Mark Kuhn has helped to set up THIS EVENT to help raise money for The One Fund which was set up by Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick and Boston Mayor Tom Menino to "help the people most affected by the tragic events that occurred in Boston on April 15, 2013." Donate to The One Fund if you can, and show your support at the "All In For Boston" event on April 28th.