Bay Swim 2013

By Anna Bradford

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When I left the middle school after student teaching yesterday I was feeling happy and hopeful.  Then, as I got into my car I saw the text messages from friends about the explosions at the Boston Marathon.  I immediately turned on the radio and cried as I listened to the news and runners sharing their experiences.  My heart breaks for everyone who lost a family member or friend first and foremost.  It also breaks for all the runners who trained so hard for their victory moment and had it robbed from them. 

For so many of us novice runners, Boston is our greatest aspiration.  From the first time we laced up our shoes at our first race we heard the murmurings of Boston qualifying times.  When someone tells us their personal record we put it into context by our own PRs and of course those Boston qualifying times.

I heard the reports that the first explosion went off four hours and nine minutes into the race and I thought about crossing the finish line only a few minutes later at the Pittsburgh marathon with friends a little ahead and behind me.  I thought about the total ecstasy I felt the seven times I crossed a full marathon finish line.  The only thing to date that has topped that incredible feeling was the birth of my son.  I thought about the crowded streets packed with cheering fans at the New York marathon and all my family and friends scattered among the course cheering for me during the Pittsburgh marathon. 

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