"We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender, and even if, which I do not for a moment believe, this Island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God's good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old."
A little background. I have not always been a runner. I am not a fast runner ... as a matter of fact I would have been about 2 hours away from harm in Boston. But I am a runner - now. I used to be a drunk, a druggie, a loser, a drop-out, a liar and a thief. But now I am a runner. And when I run I remember to thank the spectators for coming out & the volunteers for being there. And when I cross a finish line I thank God for keeping me alive long enough for me to be grateful for the life I have. Most finish lines I cross I have tears in my eyes, because I remember my first.
In 2007, after my very first Learn To Run class, when she asked, I told the nice instructor that I had not been sure if I was going to run for a minute or have a massive heart attack - and that was the truth. Heart disease runs in my family. I was 248lbs and had buried my uncle only a couple of months before. I would lose my father within a year but he was already dying. and at the end of the clinic when I ran the 4.35km "5k" target race ... there were tears in my eyes. Tears of joy & gratitude and a few that I had suppressed when I was a child probably snuck out too. In less than 20 months I would run myself into the ground and experience an injury that I feared would prevent me from ever running again and force me to not toe the line for my second half marathon for almost 24 months. But I came back and I run ... I have a 5:32:55 personal best marathon time ... and that was the first of the four that I've run. But I Am A Runner!
And this week some cowards tried to hurt runners - an attack on me by extension. I had friends in Boston & family of friends in those spectators. I am hurt, and mad ... I was AFRAID, but now I am MAD. So those cowardly low-lifes who attacked the Boston Marathon on Patriots Day should pray that I don't find them ... because I would not be nice to them.
What I will do is "I will Run". I will continue to live my life as if that never happened. I will watch for cowards and enemies but I will never surrender. Because if we stop living the cowards win. And That Ain't Gonna Happen.
