Something Different

Is it coincidence I signed up for the Boston Marathon on this fateful day?

I want to run on behalf of Dana Farber Cancer Institute. For those of you who are unfamiliar, it's arguably the greatest cancer research and treatment facility in the country and every year for the Boston marathon, several hundred volunteers agree to raise money for the organization in exchange for a number on their chest. That's right, I'm agreeing to raise at least $4000 for cancer research so I can officially run 26.2 miles. 

After learning what happened in last April's Boston Marathon, I first felt disbelief, then sadness and finally anger and defiance.  There was no way in my mind that I would miss next year's race, whether it was me running it, or simply standing on the sidelines screaming my lungs out, all I knew was I would be there.

For awhile I wanted to write a post trying to even remotely describe what that day is like. Patriot's day. Marathon Monday. And I realized I'm not a good enough writer to do so and nothing I said would capture the spirit of the day; the purity of the day. It's a holiday only observed by the city of Boston. Almost everyone is off from school and work and it's a MONDAY. You have families lining the course from the rolling hills of Hopkinton to the towering buildings of Copley Square, the attention starved Wellesley girls kissing the runners as they run through the tunnel, the intoxicated and boisterous BC students doing everything they can to get the runners up that last heartbreaking hill, and then the last 5 miles running into the city of Boston encountering the tens of thousands of fans spilling out from the 11 a.m. Sox game. There's a reason why it's considered the "mother of all marathons" and it's from the immense outpouring of love and support from the people and city of Boston. They truly roll out the red carpet for all who come to run this historic route and so so soooo many people running it, run it for something other than themselves. It's a day that celebrates the goodness, charity, and strength of the human spirit. It's Boston's greatest day and for those who have lived there, been there, run it, seen it, you know what I'm talking about. For those of you who've never gone, that's something for the bucket list. Go at least once in your life.

That's why when the bombs went off on that day of all days, it was just so disgusting to me.

It wasn't until about two months ago when I decided to go the insane route and run it. For those who know me well, they know I run a good deal. I probably average 30-40 miles a week, running 8 miles at a time so what's another 14? And when I run it, I really do want to run it for Dana Farber because of their Partner Program. You are matched up with a child treated in Dana Farber's Jimmy Fund Clinic and over the course of the year you meet up together for planned events, dinners, sporting events and there's nothing I'd love more than running for a brave individual fighting everyday of their lives to beat cancer. Those are real heros. Really. I'm not running this one for myself. I want to run it for every brave child fighting everyday against cancer. I want to run it for every man and woman who runs TO an explosion with no thought for themselves. I want to run for the people of Boston. I want to run it for Welles Crowther (BC '99), the man in the red bandana, who went back up to the 78th floor in the South tower and sacrificed his own life to save 12 people. I want to run to prove that there is nothing any coward can do to change or break the American spirit. #FreedomFromFear #NeverForget9/11

I'll keep you guys posted as to whether or not Dana Farber accepts my application.