Better late then never

Here it is Friday, the Boston Marathon was Monday, and I've barely written a thing. What was I thinking. Like many runners, I think, I watched the race streaming on the internet while I was at work. Probably not the best use of the bandwidth, but I'm sure I didn't slow anyone else down.

I used find it difficult to watch others run. I mean, really, golf has more excitement then a marathon, right? But this time I had a different perspective. It was more like watching a how-to video. I'm not just talking about watching the elite runners. I enjoyed seeing the strategy of the runners. How the women took it slow, running as a pack as one-by-one the pack dwindled down to two runners. How the men decided to go all out from the start and weed out the crowd early. That was actually exciting. Like I said, I never enjoyed that before, but I did this time.

But there was the other part of the Boston Marathon that was exiting to me. More than exciting, inspiring. There was the wheelchair racers, who are unable to walk or run, but propel themselves 26.2 miles with their upper body strength alone. There was Team Hoyt, the father and son team. The father, Dick, pushes his son, Rick, who is physically disabled, in a wheel chair. They run to help others who are physically disabled be productive members of the community. Of course, there was Jennifer Sheridan, who ran in honor of her lost 3 lost siblings. And, the list goes on.

I was reminded that the reason we all love watching the marathon is not because we get to see the elite runners perform inhuman feats. Rather, we are exhilarated and, in my case, inspired, when we see folks, much like ourselves, cross the finish line for the benefit of others. Essentially to see everyday moms, dads, sisters, brothers, etc...perform truly human acts of kindness and love. Now, that's exciting!