"The world is too much with us; late and soon." William Wordsworth
As I write this, one suspect is on the run, and another suspect has been reported dead.
More importantly, an officer is also dead.
Since the days of the Boston Bombing I've been reminding myself that, even as a runner, "it's not about you." I look back at my thoughts, and wonder how much I saw this only through runner's eyes. This was an attack on citizens at a running event, not an attack on runners where citizens were harmed. Sure, the ripples will be felt by my runner's leg. The ripples smack some pretty hard, but really, "it's not about you," I tell myself. When my brain goes to all my future marathon finishes, and to the upcoming massive New York marathon, I'm wondering if I'm making it about me. The answer is always in the question.
The real tragedy of the event is those who have suffered permanent impairments from the bombing, and especially those who lost their life. Not runners. If only we could always keep that image of the 8 year old boy with the infectious smile and the sign reading "Stop hurting people. Peace" My children are the same age, that could have easily been my children, and that would be a fate worse than my own death. Same way I felt at Sandy Hook.
The reason we run sometimes is to get to our loved ones at the finish. To see our family with new eyes. This is what the Bombing was about, families and lives torn apart. That is felt by all of us.
My 'brother by another mother', Predawn Runner Greg, wrote a post about this called "Boston Is Everyone's Tragedy, Not Just Runners" He put it more wisely than I.
In the canceled New York City Marathon of 2013, politics and community collided with the runner community when the hurricane devastated a community. This situation seems so much more. Of course, we will run to deal with this, because running helps us understand, helps us cope, and yes is even an expression of emotion, but I'm thinking of a focus to run to celebrate and remember life, rather running to simply celebrate running.