Wednesday, April 17, 2013

A Sign of Hope In The Middle of Chaos


Amidst the horrific pictures and stories surrounding the bombings at the Boston Marathon on Monday, I came across this little gem of a story.  As a 3-time marathoner myself, I'm a sucker for feel-good marathon stories and this one pulled me right in.  It brought a smile to my face, and I felt the need to share it so that maybe you could have one too.

Someone close the windows...its getting a little dusty in here....

Credit goes out to websites Deadspin and Huffington Post who have reported the story as well.

I was 1/2 mile from the finish line when the explosion went off. I had no idea what was going on until I finally stopped and asked someone. Knowing that my family was at the finish line waiting for me, I started panicking, trying to call them. Diverted away from the finish line, I started walking down Mass Ave towards Symphony Hall still not knowing where my family was. Right before the intersection of Huntington, I was able to get in touch with my boyfriend and found out he was with my family and they were safe. I was just so happy to hear his voice that I sat down and started crying. Just couldn't hold it back.

At that moment, a couple walking by stopped. The woman took the space tent off her husband, who had finished the marathon, and wrapped it around me. She asked me if I was okay, if I knew where my family was. I reassured her I knew where they were and I would be ok. The man then asked me if I finished to which I nodded "no." He then proceeded to take the medal off from around his neck and placed it around mine. He told me "you are a finisher in my eyes." I was barely able to choke out a "thank you" between my tears.
Odds are I will never see this couple again, but I'm reaching out with the slim chance that I will be able to express to them just what this gesture meant to me. I was so in need of a familiar face at that point in time. This couple reassured me that even though such a terrible thing had happened, everything was going to be ok.

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