April 16, 2013

We Are Runners… We Move Forward

I’m not yet ready to write – let alone post – about my marathon on Sunday. The course was 1.5 miles long due to an error in turns at the start, and I planned to write about how I was “outraged” at how the organizers screwed it up. But really, outrage over running a few extra miles? Runners at the Boston finish line voluntarily ran 1.5 extra miles to Mass General to donate blood. And many of us are just grateful that we’re able to run at all right now, given that the attack has left many unable to do so.

I also don’t know yet how to completely get back to normal life. I’ve been going to meetings and getting engrossed in the intricacies of data storage, and then going back to my desk and joking with coworkers about this or that… and then I suddenly remember that my community was attacked. That my fellow runners were cut down right at their moment of glory. And that we’re all now scared of what happens next.

Quote source: Olivetorun / photo source: WBUR

As I said yesterday, I think the only thing we can do is try to come together as a community – but how we do that is up to each individual. One of the main ways I’m attempting to deal with yesterday’s tragedy is by working to stay close with my friends and family. It’s hard to be thousands of miles away at a time like this, and I go back and forth between being able to focus on work and being totally distracted by more news reports and first hand reports from my friends (warning: linked images in that one have the most graphic images I’ve ever seen). Having friends and family just to talk to, whether about the Boston or something entirely different to distract myself, makes me feel safer, and helps to start the process of moving on.

So I’m looking ahead… to Saturday, May 11. Two great events are going on that day, and I wanted to invite any of you who are in New York City to join. In the morning, I’ll be going to SELF’s Workout in the Park; in the late afternoon, I’ll be heading to the Beers & Balls festival. I’d love to get a big group together to attend (one or the other or both!), so please save the date and I hope you can make it. It’s far enough in the future that we can hopefully laugh and joke and have fun, but it’s close enough that I’m sure we’ll all still want to come together. (Because really, we shouldn’t need a reason to get together and hug our friends.)

SELF has generously offered some free tickets for several readers to attend Workout in the Park, but it feels kind of tacky for me to do a giveaway right now in this post. If you’re interested, just stay tuned – I’ll post the giveaway sometime in the next week instead (and, as always, leave it up for a full week before picking winners).

For now, hug your friends/family… and let’s just keep trying to move forward.

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2 thoughts on “We Are Runners… We Move Forward”

  1. Hi Laura,

    Thank you for sharing your words and strength with the rest of us. I am never surprised with how strong and encouraging the running community is.

    I’ve taken a look through your website and we think you’ve done a fantastic job in covering topics that our brand’s active audience would be interested in reading about, such as walking, running, hiking, mountain climbing, etc. It would be great if you could join our community to feature your blog entries.

    If you would like to learn more about this, please send an email with “outdoors” in the subject line to info at atomicreach.com.

    Sincerely,
    Tina

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