An Open Letter from a member of the running community to the Boston Marathon Bomber

[jimlup]

If you are offended by language don't read any further. This was found linked to another site. I post it with permission:

Boston2013OpenLetter

An open letter to the person(s) responsible for the Boston Marathon bombings on April 15, 2013.

April 16, 2013

A lot of thoughts and feelings have been creeping up since I heard about the Boston Marathon bombing. First, came worry, then relief, as I was getting word that friends and acquaintances I knew that were running Boston were safe. Then came sadness for the injured, the dead, and their family and friends. But now, mostly my emotions oscillate between anger, questioning, and hope.

What the hell were you thinking? Do you realize what tribe of people you were fucking with? Seriously? You thought we were just a bunch of skinny pansies in short shorts? We are not the “soft” targets” you think we are. We are the most persistent, tenacious, focused, tribe of bad asses you will ever encounter. Let me illustrate.

When humans first started running, it was called “getting dinner”. (http://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/nature/Fair-Chase.html)
The guy who ran the first marathon died after he did it. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pheidippides)
But only because he ran 153 miles the day before. (http://www.spartathlon.gr/)
We will bang out an 18 mile run before you eat breakfast.
We will do that even when we’re injured or sick just because it’s our “long day”.
We won’t see a doctor when we’re hurt because they’ll tell us to stop running.
When other athletes do what we do, they whine and call it “punishment”.
We will run 26.2 miles. All for a fucking t-shirt and medal.
Then we’ll do it again tomorrow.
Then again the next day. (http://www.laketahoemarathon.com/triple.html)
And one more time the day after. (http://seattlequadzilla.com/)
We will hand our last gel or sip of water to the person struggling next to us.
We will get chicked. (http://www.chicked.com/)
We will get geezered. (http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=geezered)
We will get beat by a scrawy dog wearing a sweater.
We will get beat by a guy in a pancake suit. (http://www.runnerspace.com/video.php?video_id=44501-Flapjack-Eugene-Marathon-5k)
We will come in DFL. (http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=dfl)
And we will still show up for the next race.
We will shit our shorts. On live TV. And only win the race. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/athletics/4454315.stm)
We will enter a 100 mile horse race. And then show up without a horse. (http://www.wser.org/how-it-all-began/)
Our flight got cancelled. It was supposed to take us somewhere 200 miles away. No problem. We will run there. (http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/16/sports/ultrarunner-competes-on-far-side-of-extreme.html)
We will run to raise money for wounded veterans and their families. Even though we hate running. For 100 miles. (http://www.runnersworld.com/runners-stories/warrior-david-goggins)
We will run 135 miles. Across a desert. With the word “Death” in its name. In the middle of summer. (http://www.badwater.com/)
Then we’ll run 10 more miles. Up a fucking mountain because 135 wasn’t enough. (https://sites.google.com/site/badwater146info/)
We will run our first marathon. When we’re 90 years old. And keep going until we’re 100. (http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2013/02/24/centenarian-marathon-race-ends.html)
We will run 153 marathons. When we’re 68 years old. In one year. (http://www.runnersworld.com/general-interest/larry-macon-runs-record-153-marathons-2012)
We will run mountains. In the rain. When we’re 10 years old. (http://leftcoastrunning.com/article/profile-jaye-linh-shark)
We will push our adult children with cerebral palsy in a wheelchair for 26.2 miles. Not just once. But 70 times. (http://www.teamhoyt.com/)
We will run a marathon. With a brain tumor. While pushing our kid in a stroller. And win the fucking race. (http://www.beaumontenterprise.com/sports/article/Brain-cancer-patient-wins-Gusher-Marathon-4342280.php)
We will bang out 26.2 miles. While pregnant. Then hours later we will give birth to a beautiful baby. (http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/8136835-418/woman-gives-birth-after-running-chicago-marathon.html)
We will get cancer. And instead of whining about it, we will run. On one leg. Across Canada. (http://www.terryfox.org/)
Barkley Marathons. Look it up.

That’s how bad ass we are. We will fuck you up. Even the skinny, vegan, barefoot runners among us. Then we will bang out a 10 mile tempo run because fucking you up didn’t get our heart rate high enough.

So yeah. I’m pretty pissed. And I’m wondering what the fuck were you thinking messing with us? But I’m hopeful because we will do what we always do. And our families, friends, and total strangers will keep cheering us on, handing us tiny paper cups of water, and telling us we’re almost there.

Relentless. Foward. Motion.

[LeftofObama]

1. K & R!

[mnmoderatedem]

2. as an eight time marathon finisher, I say...

that narrative ROCKS!!!

[Auntie Bush]

3. Someone did a lot of work and research writing that letter.

Three cheers to them! I know we can count of them.