BE THE SPARK
As if the wrath of Mother Nature hasn’t been enough, the massacre in Las Vegas is horrifying. So much pain. So much evil.
As I heard about the shooting, I flashed back to October of 2002. I was living in Washington, DC and training for my first marathon. For 21 scary days, two snipers drove around the DC area, randomly targeting innocent people going about their daily lives – pumping gas, waiting for the bus, coming out of Home Depot and getting dropped off at middle school. They shot 13 people – killing 10 and terrorizing millions.
Public events were canceled. Gas stations hung big blue tarps so no one could pin-point your location while you filled-up your gas tank. Pedestrians were instructed to zig-zag erratically while they walked or ran. The Marine Corps Marathon officials were considering canceling the race. I was scared, but even more so, I was angry. How could these people steal our freedom and kill innocent people point-blank? Why?!!
Even though the snipers were captured and the Las Vegas shooter turned his gun on himself, we are still left asking “why?”. Why do people feel the need to terrorize, bully or just plain be rude or mean?
Like you, I feel helpless and sad, but I am not hopeless. I believe that Ana Grace Marquez-Greene was right when she told her mom “Love Wins”. I believe that kindness and compassion have the power to spread like wildfire and can soften pain and overcome evil and devastation. But like all fires, it needs a spark. That spark needs to come from you and I.
As my friend Schuyler Schuster so wisely said when our running community came together after the Boston Marathon bombings, “One act of violence was met with a thousands acts of compassion. And that makes all the difference.”
Now more than ever it is important for our community to come together. Come together to help others, but also to celebrate life, goodness and the power of perseverance in the face of ugliness. Together we can bring a little joy and laughter back to the world.
I encourage you to lace up your sneakers and join us for some fun on the run this month beginning with our Run Happy Scavenger Hunt & Marathon Send-Off Celebration this Sunday (October 8) at 10am. You don’t need to be fast, just observant, to win (you will definitely want to win because the prizes include a tandem skydive(!!), Timbuktu backpacks and a special coffee blend designed to give you infinite energy).
Later in the month, we’re hosting a Run Your World event with Saucony to raise money for the American Red Cross for hurricane relief efforts and a cool runner-friendly event called “The Storm & The Fury” with our friends at CrossFit Hartford to raise money for families in Puerto Rico who have ties to our community. Scroll to the Events section of the newsletter for details.
Remember that our human spirit cannot be squelched so easily. I find great comfort and pride that in humanity's darkest moments we put our differences, be it race, creed, political persuasion, nationality, social status or pride, aside and unite to support each other. Only together can we conquer adversity and accomplish great things. Together, our spirit can never be defeated.
#RunUnited