Rick Cooney has run 88 marathons around the world, including the historical Boston Marathon several times. Monday started out as a typical day for the Sechelt man who was enjoying another stellar finish in Boston, but it didn't end in typical fashion. He finished the race and was back in his hotel booking his flight home when his life and the lives of so many others changed forever.
Just 35 minutes after Cooney crossed the finish, two bombs went off near the finish line, killing three and injuring hundreds more.
Thankfully, Cooney along with the four other runners with Sunshine Coast connections running in the event are all safe, unharmed and making their way back to the Coast to the waiting arms of their family and friends.
But others were not so lucky. Among those who perished was an eight-year-old boy from Boston, a 29-year-old woman from Medford, Mass and a graduate student from Boston University. Hundreds more have severe injuries, many having to go through amputation surgeries due to the extent of their injuries. Many for a long time to come will feel the impacts of this tragedy.
Cooney related his experience to us this week and he has quite the tale of what happened in Boston. It was a scene of chaos and disbelief. Cooney said the events have sadly created a new chapter for the running community, a chapter that should never have been written.
Over the past few days we all have been following the story, the investigation, the search for clues, the search for answers, the search for suspects. We've heard of the tales of heroism and sacrifice, of goodwill, of loss.
One of the best columns I read was from Bruce Arthur from Postmedia when he talked about how what happened to the Boston Marathon was not about sports. He spoke of security concerns at big events such as these and the stories of kindness of Bostonians as they rallied together in this time of need.
Some of the sentiments that Arthur expressed were eerily similar to what was written about in the days after 9/11, how in the face of such unthinkable loss and suffering, so many came together as one. We all stood united - together helping each other through that horrible time. We should do the same again this time to.
I have travelled many times to New York and Boston. I have friends in New York who have recalled painful memories of 9/11. Many of those memories and stories came flooding back in my mind on Monday afternoon when news of the bombings in Boston broke.
How could something like this happen? Who could commit such unspeakable acts on so many innocent people? As I write this Thursday morning, authorities are closing in on suspects and answers are beginning to emerge. Once arrests are made, some closure and healing can begin and the Boston Marathon and events such as these can go on for what they are meant to - a celebration of life, and of the enduring human spirit.
