I had the Boston Marathon playing on my projector this morning when the kids got to school. They had so many questions about the African runners, the clothing the runners wore, the crowds cheering. It was fun way to start the day. As the morning progressed, however, I started receiving texts and updates on how my buddies were doing on the course.
It must have been tough.
It must have been grueling.
They must have had to dig so deep that it rocked their core. Brought tears to their eyes. Caused some to crumble.
As the morning progressed, my mood changed from upbeat, excited and hopeful, to worried, dismayed and upset. I KNOW what it feels like to put in months and months of training and then have to back down, accept the injury/weather/course/ or whatever the day might bring. Move outside of my hopes and dreams and rely on my body to just survive. It usually isn't very pretty. It takes your mind and your body to a different place. It is often a cliche but at times like this, very true, EXPERIENCES like this take you to a different place as a runner and as an individual. A very noble place.
Although I wasn't there(regretfully)to cheer on my very best running friends, I am in awe of their strength, determination and bravery. They headed into the worst of conditions and hung in their with their heads held high and they gave it their very, very best.
These are the heroes of the day. They have the biggest hearts. They slowed down to run with others and extended a spirit that isn't often seen at races like BOSTON. The went outside of themselves and embraced the bigger picture.
I'm grateful that all of you SURVIVED. I'm SO fortunate to call you my friends. I don't mind if you had to stop and save it for another race. I don't mind if you had to walk. I don't mind if you had to jog or hold a stranger's hand while they sat along the sidelines.
I love you guys, you are all heroes in my eyes...all of you!
It must have been tough.
It must have been grueling.
They must have had to dig so deep that it rocked their core. Brought tears to their eyes. Caused some to crumble.
As the morning progressed, my mood changed from upbeat, excited and hopeful, to worried, dismayed and upset. I KNOW what it feels like to put in months and months of training and then have to back down, accept the injury/weather/course/ or whatever the day might bring. Move outside of my hopes and dreams and rely on my body to just survive. It usually isn't very pretty. It takes your mind and your body to a different place. It is often a cliche but at times like this, very true, EXPERIENCES like this take you to a different place as a runner and as an individual. A very noble place.
Although I wasn't there(regretfully)to cheer on my very best running friends, I am in awe of their strength, determination and bravery. They headed into the worst of conditions and hung in their with their heads held high and they gave it their very, very best.
These are the heroes of the day. They have the biggest hearts. They slowed down to run with others and extended a spirit that isn't often seen at races like BOSTON. The went outside of themselves and embraced the bigger picture.
I'm grateful that all of you SURVIVED. I'm SO fortunate to call you my friends. I don't mind if you had to stop and save it for another race. I don't mind if you had to walk. I don't mind if you had to jog or hold a stranger's hand while they sat along the sidelines.
I love you guys, you are all heroes in my eyes...all of you!
Aww, so sweet Meg. Thank you for this. It was so hard. Hardest thing I've ever done in life. But it taught me that there is always more within us. Even when we think there isn't.
ReplyDeleteNicely put, Meg. I am in agreement. Hard, hard, hard. We are lucky to have pretty consistent weather here. Each of the racers today was giving their best.
ReplyDeleteThis is so true. Warriors are not always found on battlefields. The enemy today was the weather and I applaud everyone who fought on and survived.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful post Meg.
ReplyDeleteThe weather our Boston friends experienced yesterday was the same weather I had last year at my first half marathon attempt. I had to step out of the race because I almost fainted 4 times because of the heat and it just wasn't worth it. No shame in saving it for another race. Sometimes you can't influence what happens, like the weather.
By the way I am proud of the Dutch Michael Butter who finished 7th at the men's race.
ReplyDeleteSo eloquently said, Meg. I turned the race on for just 3 minutes during my lunch time yesterday (10:15 AM EST) and caught a glimpse of the unfolding events in horrible conditions. We aren't supposed to run streaming video in our district except in limited viewing, so it was brief b/c I was curious. As my HS kiddos returned from lunch, a few saw it on my screen. "WHY would they WANT to run that far???!!" they asked incredulously, as they watched the women striding.
ReplyDeleteThen, I saw a 7-second highlight on the news last night... AMAZING runners! Spirit and tenacity. Congratulations to all of the Boston runners. You make me smile. :)
WELL said Meg! WELL said!
ReplyDeleteA very beautiful post. I have heard how hard Boston was this year.
ReplyDeleteCongrats to all the runners who finished the race.
All of those runners became my heroes that day!
ReplyDeleteI was sitting at about the 26.1 mile mark. I could see running rounding onto Boyston and I could see them crossing the finish line.
I just got goose bumps on my body thinking about it all again. The faces of the runners told so many stories. You could see that this really was incredibly challenging. I saw so many men actually go to the ground with just that last bit to go, and then other runners actually turn around to help instead of just running in to the finish line. It really touched me and reminded me what it is that I love so much about our running community!
I agree Meg! I watched the race from home on-line and felt the same way!
ReplyDeleteHaving run one race in unanticipated heat, I can agree how effing hard it is, and how even on the course, you don't appreciate how hard it really is or the toll its taking. I ran a half marathon in heat and it dazed me, literally.
ReplyDeleteAm glad the folks who did it, did it and hope they are happy with their achievement. Always another race and another day.
Why else do people run other than to get to that place? Awesome.
ReplyDeleteYou are absolutely right... !
ReplyDeleteMeg, I miss your sense of humor and inspiration! Hope all is well with you and your beautiful family and that you are just too busy enjoying summer to blog. :)
ReplyDelete