Later I began thinking about how this incident will change the face of races forever. I don't know how you make a race course safe from this type of attack. I know one if the best things about BIG races is how much the city and community supports the runners. For 5 years I have participated in one of the races for the Baltimore marathon (never the full marathon, but the relay, half marathon and 5k events). The spectators for the event are one of the best parts. Throughout the whole course there are people cheering you on and towards the end there are lots of people that put out speakers, dress in costume or hand out snacks. I don't know how you make 26 miles of a city safe and I don't think that running a "closed" race would have the same joy.
Then when watching the news of the 8 year old boy who died waiting to give his dad a hug, I felt a deep fear and sadness. Having a child certainly changes your perspective on tragedies. I'm sure that the father worked very hard to qualify and train for the marathon, and his son must have been so excited to cheer for him that day. I know when we cheered for E's marathon I was very proud and excited to be there with her. As a parent I hate to do anything that would put Josh in harms way, and something like watching a race would never seem dangerous. Julian and I are signed up for a 5k in Baltimore in May and the plan is for my sister to watch Josh while we run. When I first asked E she suggested taking Josh on a walk to watch the race, which I thought was a great idea. I'm sure that is what others thought yesterday. It is so hard that there are so few things in the world that are safe.
Days like yesterday make me hold Josh tight and send my thoughts to others who are affected by this tragedy.
I would not have made it through my marathon without you and I would never ever forgive myself if something had happened to you. I hate the idea of losing spectators for these races, because the only thing that gets me through the end of a long race is the cheering squad. It will be interesting to see what happens next weekend at our half.
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