The Boston Marathon is an elite, gruelling event for which participants must qualify in order to enter. Categories are divided by gender and age, and runners may use their finishing times from various international “Boston qualifier” marathons. The qualifying times are strict—right down to tenths of a second.

D has participated in two Boston Marathons so far; once in 2009 and again in 2010. Like all athletes who dream of running Boston, D set a goal, trained hard, employed a coach, and ran several Canadian marathons both for conditioning and for qualifying. He ran (and continues to run) all year long, which is not an easy task in Ottawa when you contend with freezing temperatures, snow, slush, darkness, and sometimes hostile drivers in the winter, and then punishing heat and humidity in the summer.

I remember well how we all felt when D successfully qualified for Boston for the first time. He had trained so hard and pushed himself to run faster than he had ever run before that he shaved several minutes off his best previous time and finished well within the qualifying time for his category. I am sedentary myself and would never run even if paid to do so, but even I was moved to tears by D’s accomplishment and exuberance that day.

When we arrived in Boston the following spring, the city was filled with what felt like hundreds thousands of people just like us, athletes who had achieved a major life goal, and families and friends who had come along to cheer them on and share in their joy.

Waiting at the finish line of any marathon is so much fun. People arrive early, hoping to secure a front-of-the-barrier position to see their relative or friend run by. Children are hoisted on the shoulders of one parent, waiting excitedly for their other parent to appear in the distance. People even make room for other spectators when it’s clear that their athlete is about to run by, so that they may snap a picture. Everyone is accommodating and polite, because they are all there for the same reason.

Even if you are not a runner, you can appreciate what each athlete is feeling, both physically and emotionally, as they finally see the finish line ahead, pushing themselves to continue when every neuron in their brain is sending a million signals to stop moving. They are in pain, they are often bleeding, they are dehydrated, and they are simply exhausted.

So, of course, spectators use their screams, cheers, and encouragement to push the athletes right to the finish line. No one cares if the athlete running past them is familiar; in a marathon, you’re everyone’s personal cheerleader. Most major marathons now have the names of the athletes printed right on their number bib, so it makes it even easier for spectators to cheer each runner by name. As the athletes run by, some will wave to the crowds, some will smile, and some grimace and grunt in obvious discomfort. But all of them seem to enjoy a little bit of a lift that they get from hearing strangers calling their names and encouraging them forward. Boston was no different.

The goodwill extended to each athlete at D’s Boston Marathons wasn’t limited to spectators at the finish line. At the end of D’s second marathon, as we were returning to our rented apartment, a Red Sox game had ended at Fenway Park. A group of young men were walking in the opposite direction to us, still cheering and jubilant over their team’s victory. One of them, seeing D’s marathon medal around his neck, called out, “Hey, man! Congratulations!” and gave D a big hug. As we stood in the packed subway back to the apartment, several seated passengers attempted to give their seat to D, all proclaiming, “Sit down! You must be tired!”

The Boston Marathon is about so much more than athleticism. It’s about family love and support and achieving goals; it’s about an entire community encouraging excellence, and strangers celebrating a common achievement; it’s about feeding the dreams of young children. Each spring, Boston puts on this amazing party, and invites the world to join.

Judging by newspaper headlines, the world today stands in solidarity with the great city of Boston and the victims of yesterday’s cowardly, lethal bombings at the finish line of the Boston Marathon. May the perpetrators of this evil crime never succeed in diminishing all that is great about this legendary event and all of the people who participate in it each year.

EDIT (April 24): A week later, and the official count is three four deceased and 264 people injured in the Boston Marathon bombings. Numerous people remain in hospital with a variety of injuries, including amputations.

Please, if you are able to, consider making a modest donation to assist these patients in their lengthy and expensive recovery. Here are some links:

– The One Fund Boston: https://onefundboston.org/

– Jeff Bauman is the young man we’ve all seen in the picture being whisked away in a wheelchair when his lower legs were destroyed by the bombs. This is his page, set up by his family and friends: http://www.gofundme.com/BucksforBauman

Additionally, Jeff’s family has asked that people send Jeff letters of support as he is facing a long recovery:

Jeff Bauman C/O Jen Joyce 117 Tyngsboro Rd. Westford, MA 01886 or
Jeff Bauman C/O Jen Joyce P.O. Box 261 Chelmsford, MA 01824.

– Huffington Post and CNN both list several sites for donations:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/15/help-boston-marathon-victims_n_3087183.html
http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/16/us/iyw-boston-marathon/index.html?iid=article_sidebar

– Adidas has designed a t-shirt in honour of all the first responders and volunteers who assisted the injured. All profits will go to One Fund Boston:
http://www.adidas.com/us/product/mens-running-boston-marathon-tribute-tee/L89320X?cid=L89321&breadcrumb=1z125b0Z1z13071

Thank you.