"Awesome...Inspiring...Thrilling!"
My sister responded with the above captioned after receiving my text and picture of a runner at the marathon. On Monday, I made my to the Boston Marathon for the first time in my twenty- seven years of being a Bostonian. It was amazing! After having watched the Boston Marathon a few times, I decided to see it in real life as the weather promised to be great. Great weather for the spectators that is! Not for the Runners! Temperatures hiked up into the mid 80's causing a lot of heat related issues for the runners.
AWESOME- I arrived just in time to hear the roar of applause erupting from the crowd lining Boylston Street as Kenyan, Sharon Cherop, crossed the finish line first. It was an awesome moment! I jumped up on someone's steps(Surprised they didn't kick me off!) and spotted her after she came through the finish line. Not wanting to stay at the back of the finish line, I wandered up Boylston Street 100 yards from the finish line and worked my way into a spot at the front of the line. Everyone was in great spirits! I met people from New Jersey, Alabama, Texas and Kansas who were here to watch a family member run!
During my sojourn for a spot, I missed the men's race to the finish line. Kenyan, Wesley Korir, won for the men's division. Notice the time. Imagine running 26 miles in 2 hours?
INSPIRING- After the men's and women's races were over, runners trickled in in small numbers. The majority were men and most of them looked great as in not completely exhausted. Around the three hour mark, larger groups of people started coming through. I saw several groups of army men running towards the finish line. The crowd always erupted in extra cheers and applause for them.
Other inspiring images that stood out were the individuals running with a prosthetic leg, the blind man running with a walking stick in his hand, the two blind men running with a "rope" attached to a guide who was also running with them and the parents who pushed their children with special needs. One such person I saw was Dick Hoyt pushing his son, Rick, to the finish line. Dick is 71 and this is his 30th Boston Marathon run to raise awareness for the Hoyt foundation.
THRILLING- It is thrilling to see average people lace up their sneakers for a cause that they believe in. Many people ran for a charity, a hospital or to reach a personal goal. As the 4th and 5th hour mark hit, many of the non-professional runners made their appearance. The unexpected heat wiped everyone out to some degree, but it hit these people the hardest. A few would stagger to the ground in exhaustion. It was sweet to see a stranger come by and offer a pat on the back, a hand to help them up or a shoulder to lean on. Watching the person stand to their feet and limp to the finish line was thrilling. People were still jogging up Boylston Street at the 6th and 7th hour of the race. Towards the end of the day, an elderly veteran bent over with exhaustion made his way up Boylston Street as a young army friend ran along the sidelines shouting, "You can do it! You're almost there!" And he did!
Throughout the day, I thought about the Christian race we are running and the cloud of witnesses that we are compassed about with. Our race on earth can be grueling, but the Finish Line will be much more glorious than any of us can imagine. So..."Let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith;" Hebrews 12:1-2
See you at the Finish Line!
Editor's Note: After cheering the runners on, I took a break at one of my favorite places on Newbury Street. :)
