Following the week that was in Boston, and you all know the
week I am talking about, the week when life changed for everyone living in
Boston. The week where a lot of people, had a lot of questions; questions which
still have yet to be answered. I too have these questions, and still want
answers, but above all else, this week made me ask myself who am I?
The thing is I feel personally attacked. I feel like they
were taking aim at me personally. I wasn’t at the finish line of the marathon,
but I still feel like it was a personal attack. I am sure that many Bostonians
share that feeling. But I am not a Bostonian. Who am I?
I was born in London, England, and in 2006 I ran and completed
the London Marathon. I always wanted to run a marathon, and when I finally did
it, I am pretty sure that the first words out of my mouth were a promise “never
again”. But I did it, and I did it with no explosions or terror attacks, and no
fear of these things ever happening. YOU took that away from everyone like me,
everyone who has the dream to run in a marathon. Who am I? I am a marathoner,
and YOU attacked me!
When I ran the London marathon, I ran for charity, and
raised over $1500. I finished the London Marathon in just under 4 hours,
surrounded by other runners who were running for charity. When the clock read
4:09 in London in 2006, there were hundreds of people crossing the finish line,
all with smiles on their faces, pride in their eyes, and sweat dripping off
their brow. In Boston this year, YOU took that away from people like me. You
stopped people from crossing that finish line…for now. I am a marathoner, and
YOU attacked me, but I am a marathoner. I choose to run 26.2 miles, as fast as
I can. I choose to put myself through hours of training, months before the
actual marathon. YOU can’t stop me. But I wasn’t running in the Boston
Marathon, and remember I said “never again”. Well, thanks to YOU, “never again”
is one promise I am happy to break. But I am not just a marathoner.
I might not be a Bostonian, but I do live in Boston. I work
in Boston, I teach in Boston, I run in Boston. I was in Boston on Marathon
Monday. I was in Boston on Patriots Day. You chose to make whatever statement
you wanted to make in Boston. In my heart, I am a proud Boston Inhabitant. Who am
I? I am a Boston Inhabitant, and YOU attacked me!
When I moved to Boston in 2008, I was already a Red Sox fan,
my Wife (A true Bostonian) saw to that. I fell in love with my wife, and then I
fell in love with the City of Boston, MY CITY. I love Boston! My favorite place
in Boston is Fenway Park, the home of my beloved Red Sox. That’s where I was on
Marathon Monday. I was in MY CITY, watching MY Red Sox. As Mike Napoli hit a
walk off double of the Green Monster, My wife and I, along with 38000 other
members of Red Sox Nation, left Fenway with a huge smile on our faces. My wife
said to me “shall we go and watch the marathoners finish”, and for once I said “no”
to my wife. We went to get some lunch, and then we saw the breaking news runner
on the TV screens. It couldn’t be…but it was. Someone had attacked MY CITY. Who
am I? I guess I am a Bostonian, an English Bostonian, and YOU attacked me!
The thing is, you didn’t attack me, you don’t even know who
you attacked. You have no idea what you have done. You have awoken a beast - a
proud and passionate Bostonian beast. Boston was strong way before YOU came
along, and now, despite the horror that YOU inflicted, this city, MY CITY has
emerged out of the shadows, and we are standing up tall, we are shouting from
the roof tops, and most importantly for me, WE ARE RUNNING! I will see everyone
at a finish line. Thanks for reading!