“We’re a tough lot,” commented Lacy J. Hansen about she and her fellow runners. She’s a friend, the running contributor here at DietsInReview.com, and a marathoner. Just as Stephen Colbert said in his open on Tuesday night, this is a people who run 26 miles on their days off. They’re hard core to nth degree.
So it’s no surprise that Boston Marathon finishers crossed the line on Monday afternoon and headed directly to nearby hospitals to donate blood. And it’s no surprise that on Tuesday runners across the nation wore their souvenir race T-shirts to symbolically stand with their swift-footed brothers and sisters. In fact, #RunChat is rallying runners to do so again this Friday.
The official #RunChat Race Shirt Day will be 4/19. Spread the word. #RunforBoston – bit.ly/raceshirtday
— #RunChat (@therunchat) April 18, 2024
And it’s equally no surprise that this weekend you will be able to find a running event from sea to shining sea that will raise money for those affected by the Boston Marathon bombings. More powerful than the money is that we will all see this incredible community pull together in solidarity once again, liken to the wave of support the cancellation of the NYC Marathon brought on post-Sandy.
This weekend, runners of all kinds will lace up once again to help their neighbors from as far away as LA and nearby as New York and everywhere in between.
Here are a few you should plan to join.
Boro for Boston – Boston – 4/18/13
This race starts at 6:15p tonight and attendees have the option to run or walk a 2.62 mile distance or 4.09 mile, which represents the time of the first explosion.
Compatriots Day 5K – New York City – 4/20/13
Notwork Network and NYC Social have organized a 5k event this Saturday in Central Park. The fee is $20 per runner with a portion going to OneFundBoston.com
Prairie Fire Marathon – Wichita – 4/20/13
An already scheduled 1/2 marathon preview run will be collecting money to donate to OneFundBoston.com. Administrators say you don’t have to run the full 13.1 and any and all runners are welcome to participate.
5.2 at 5 for Boston – Tallahassee – 4/21/13
Runners in Florida will take on 5.2 miles on Sunday evening to represent the mile 21 where many runners had to abandon the marathon. Donations by way of food purchases will be made to the Boston Red Cross.
Monday Night Run for Boston – Seattle – 4/22/13
Runners will meet to run a 5K and also collect donations toward OneFundBoston.com. A list of sponsors, including Oiselle, are involved and raffles for things like sports massages will be offered.
Tribute Run/Walk for Boston – Long Beach, CA – 4/22/13
This run organized for Orange County/South Los Angeles will be using #BostonStrongOC #BostonStrongLB on Twitter to keep runners united.
This is by no means a comprehensive list, but a shining example of how quickly runners are putting these events together to support Boston’s victims and marathon runners. Twitter and Facebook appear to be the best resources to find an event in your community.
The Unofficial Races
You could also run on your own and dedicate those miles to Boston, as Pam Shaffer did on the day after the bombing.
In honor of Boston! I just finished a 4.14 mi run with a pace of 14’40″/mi with Nike+ Running. go.nike.com/18545tj #nikeplus
— Pam Shaffer (@pasus58) April 16, 2024
Runners doing so are encouraged to use #RunForBoston or #MilesForBoston in their Tweets. Denise Koessler has created a Google Doc spreadsheet asking runners to log their city and miles. As of this writing they had collected 955 “signatures.”
30 countries. 5 CONTINENTS. 130 marathons and LOGGING. #MilesForBoston #RunForBoston add your miles here docs.google.com/spreadsheet/cc…
— Denise Koessler (@DeniseKoessler) April 18, 2024
Additionally, you can commit to running 26.2 miles during the next month on this Facebook page, or commit to do so during the next year as part of a project at CNN’s iReport.
Will you run? Tell us when, where, and how far @DietsInReview on Twitter.
Also Read:
Help Boston: 6 Ways to Give Time, Money, Support