Many people will ask “where was God?” on the day of the attack at the Boston Marathon. For me and my mother, he WAS THERE and I want to tell you how He guided me through this event~ from start to finish.
I have always been a believer and like many Christians, there are times my faith was stronger than others. I will admit I don’t attend a regular service and currently do not have a church I call “home”. And in spite of that, God pulled me through the Boston Marathon.
you know that nagging feeling you get to do something, or maybe a knot in your stomach, or even a last minute hesitation to do something? Many would say it’s intuition, or your gut instinct talking. I believe these moments are God “whispering” to me to get my attention. And the Boston Marathon was full of those.
As I was planning my trip, my mom was set on being there. She loves attending my events but this time the “pull” seemed even greater for her to be present. The nite before the race, I was adamant about coming up with set place to meet at the end of the race. I wouldn’t go to bed until we had decided on not just one place but three! At the time, I chalked it up to the amount of people that were going to be there and I didn’t want mom walking all over trying to find me since she had bad knees. I tucked some money into the lanyard the athletes had to wear so we could grab a taxi after the race.
In the morning, everything seemed pretty routine and I remember sitting in the Athlete’s Village thinking how lucky I was to be there. I was pretty blessed. Prior to my move to Maryland I had been coaching a group of adults who had gone from little or no running to their first full marathon and beyond. I got to be with them as they reached their goals and today I was running my dream race and this was going to be a celebration of my racing. Today, they were cheering for me. I was cheering for me!! I was sitting among the Best of the Best, what an incredible honor. I know I said a tiny prayer of thanks and asked for God to be with me and to help me remember why I was there. I asked God to help me enjoy that race no matter if I couldn’t pull off a time to qualify again. This race was for Him. Just keep me safe and help me to enjoy it it was all I seemed to ask. (In every race I do, I ask God to watch over me and keep me safe, so my asking for his protection was not unusal.)
While I was waiting to head to the starting line, several announcements were made to remind us to fill out our emergency contact information on the back of the bib. Every time they announced it, I thought “I should do that, but I’ve never needed medical before, why should I now?” I had been texting many of my friends and former trainees throughout the morning and I thought for a brief moment I should keep the phone in my hydration belt I would be wearing during the race, but instead, I tossed it in the bag to pick up after the race.
In most athletic events, it is very common to see people with signs with the Bible verses that motivate them or give them strength. I could bet money on the fact that I will see a sign with Philippians 4:13 or John 3:16 on it. I always notice these signs but I usually don’t think much about it. I will often recite Philippians 4:13 when I run. But when I ran the Boston Marathon, I distinctly remember searching these signs out. I made sure to read them, no matter how long they were ~ especially if it was a verse that was not often quoted. I also did something that I’ve never done in a race. I tried to make eye contact with the people holding these signs. It was like I wanted them to know I saw them and I received their message. If I was able to make eye contact, I made sure they got a big smile and a thumbs up from me. And I would say that I saw these signs throughout the entire 26.2 miles of the race. I told a friend after the race that it was like “God was constantly trying to let me know He was there and that He was carrying me thru that race”.
I have connected with other runners from the marathon and one woman has said that a little boy offering her a “twizzler” is what saved her life as if she had not stopped to get it and lost about 2 minutes, that she would have been caught in the attack. I have said that if I had been any slower, I would have been in it myself. Early in the race, I was on target to re-qualify and was keeping a really good pace. At one point, I just decided I “didn’t want to work that hard” and I just wanted to enjoy my first run at Boston so I slowed down. I took in every moment and savored the entire race. I think God let me do that so I could have something to counter the aftermath of the attacks. As I’m getting closer to the end, my competitive juices started flowing and I decided to pick up my pace so I could still get in under 4 hours. As I approach the finish line, I well up with emotions and I am so grateful. I was finishing THE Boston Marathon ~the dream of so many athletes. I said Thanks to God. Thank you for letting me run my dream race. Thank you. No sooner than I crossed the line, my legs cramped up and my body temperature plummeted. We had to walk a way to get our space blanket and finisher’s medal and as soon as I got it, I sat down. Other runners were checking to make sure I was ok. I started shaking uncontrollably and one runner said “that’s not normal. you have to get into the medical tent.” I tried to protest but before I knew it I was being wheeled into the med tent across from the finish line. When they get me there and check me in, I remember that I didn’t write my mom’s contact info on my race bib. shoot, she’s not going to know I’m in here.
As I sat in the med tent, the first explosion went off. It sounded like a cannon going off and everyone looked at each other as if to say “Was that supposed to happen?” and “what was that?” Seconds later the 2nd explosion occurred ~at which time everyone realized something bad had just happened. In a matter of seconds people were being wheeled into the tent where I was. The medical professionals were rushing to get those of us all ready in there into a safe location while getting the incoming victims the urgent care they needed. I was scared, and seeing the injured folks only heightened that for me. The medical staff and volunteers were trying to calm me and several others down. I kept moving further and further out of the way and realized they were letting those of us with non-urgent needs out of the tent. I was worried my mother was close to the finish line and I knew she had no idea I was even in the med tent so I had to get out to find her. I found out later that she had seen both explosions and what she had seen was just as bad ~if not worse~ than what i had.
As I mentioned, my mother and I had set up a few areas to meet with times to be there in case we missed each other. When I exited the tent, I headed toward one of the spots. I couldn’t find her. I decided to go get my bag I had prior to the start as my cell phone was in it and I knew that was the only way we were going to find each other. Due the explosions, a lot of things had been moved and it took some time to find my stuff. Once I got to my phone, cell coverage had been pretty much stopped. I couldn’t reach my mom directly. I was finally able to connect with my sister who was able to connect with my mom. (I’d say it took us over an hour and a half to two hours to finally see each other face-face-face).While I was waiting for her, I heard a third explosion. I later learned this was the one in the JFK Library and it wasn’t an explosion but something related to the fire system at the library.
God sent me angels of comfort as I waited for my mom. I was pretty shook up. Strangers would hug me or stop and ask if I was ok. There was an entire family who waited with me until I got the news mom was close. One of the women, a fellow runner, ran with me to the end of the block to find my mom. When we finally saw each other we hugged and sobbed. Thank God we were both ok!
Mom and I have discussed a lot about what we saw and experienced. One of the professors where I work helped me figure out that my mom was about 100 ft. away from the first explosion. She was also close enough to see the medical tent. She has said that she “felt like she was ‘pulled’ to sit where she did. I have no doubt God had her sit where he wanted her. I also have realized as I’ve processed the events at Boston, that God did truly give me only what I could handle. If I had seen the explosion, more of the really severe injuries and blood on my beloved course, I don’t know that I would have pulled thru like I have. I still struggle every day with what happened. I’ve shed many tears over it. I wish I could find the others who were with me in the medical tent when they started bringing the first victims in. While I will never forget what happened, I know that I am getting stronger every day. I also know that I will return to Boston to take back the race the terrorists took from me. And while I had some survivor guilt, I have also been able to pull through knowing that God has a plan for me. I wrote this on my Facebook page the day after the attacks, ” I continue to draw comfort from the fact that God said ‘not today. I’m not ready for you. Your work is not done.’ As I heal, I will become stronger. we all will. And when I heal, I can do His work.”
I also said in another post, “God answered a lot of prayers that day~And many will feel he didn’t hear theirs. He has another plan for me and I can move forward knowing that my work here is not done. He spared me and my mom for reasons that only He knows. If I don’t acknowledge that and keep it as my foundation, then I have wasted His precious gift.”
tamsgotiron 