(Half) Marathoning

I wasn't going to write about running or marathons today. I was going to tell you about our first weekend away from Molly. But moments before I sat down to write today's blog post, I received a text message from Scott telling me about the events at the Boston Marathon. 

I'm doing the Vancouver Half Marathon in just three weeks so I'll soon be in a crowd of runners racing toward the finish line. We'll all be worried about our time, our bodies and the course. Now we'll also be nervous about bombs. That is not something you worry about when you run a race. It is not something that you SHOULD NEED to worry about. 

I've done one marathon and many, many half marathons over the years. I've never worried about being hurt in a blast. Races are usually filled with people excited to be running, people anxious about their race, people thrilled to be out on the course and of course, at the finish line, that is where the runner's support groups are located. That is where your family and friends wait for you. It's where you wait for your friends when you are finished to finish their race (or in my case where my friends wait for me to finish). It's a place of celebration. It's a place where you can finally rest. It is not a place of horror. 

Now I'm in this place where I am worried. I was looking forward to having Molly see her Momma finish strong at the Vancouver Half Marathon. I remember how proud Scott was of me the last time I did the race and I was selfishly looking forward to that same look from Molly. And now I'm not even sure I want them near the finish line. But I'm not going to make that decision now. Instead I'm going pray for the people who were running their dream race, their family and friends who were cheering them on and I'm going to hope that today's event does not crush the grandness that is the Boston Marathon. My thoughts today are with each and everyone of the people running today's race, all the people who were there cheering the runners on and all the people who work so hard to put these races on.