Running to Help

There has been a a lot written about both the horror and the heroism following the bombings at the Boston Marathon. The thanks and praise that have gone out to all levels of the law enforcement community is well deserved. The group that my thoughts keep going back to are the marathon participants....the runners. The reported behavior of those whose day, in an instant, went from a day of celebration to a day of devastation is a credit to the running community. Runners who had completed the race ran back to the finish line to offer aid and comfort to the injured. There are reports that their immediate assistance saved lives.  Runners who were denied the ability to complete the race turned and continued running to the nearest hospital to offer blood donations to help the injured.  The runners, as runners often do in races big and small and in less dreadful situations, put their own circumstances aside to come to the aid of fellow runners.

I am not a runner, but I am admire those of my friends and family who are. Several of my grandchildren are aspiring runners. Three of them belong to running clubs at their schools and have participated in various races in our area. These kids may or may not have marathons in their future, but the behavior of those in the running community immediately following the horror in Boston makes me glad that it is a community that they aspire to be a part of.