A runner’s diary
Posted on April 16, 2013 by Danielle Faber
Prior to yesterday’s tragic and horrific events, I was planning on writing a runner’s diary for my weekly blog post. As the weather begins to get better and the thought of spending more and more time outside is becoming reality, I yearn to lace up my Nikes and hit the pavement. Winter is filled with treadmills and windows and stale gym air, but the thought of summer is what gets me through each and every indoor run. Which is why I am so affected by the attacks at the finish line of the Boston Marathon. As a person, the bombs that exploded at the Boston Marathon affect my heart and soul. My sadness extends from people who were physically affected, to the families and friends of injured victims. As a runner, I am filled with a sense of loss for every runner that was involved in the Boston Marathon. Training for a 26 mile run is gruelling and can take years.
Preparation is a full time endeavour, and there is no time to worry about taking measures to prepare in case of a bomb, mainly because it would seem like a waste of time. For the affected athletes and spectators, this would come as a total shock. Bodies are already in a state of exertion, and would be pushed to extreme over-exertion with any added abuse. This adds grittiness to the already unimaginable cruelty of the attack.
Of course there is a social media angle to all of this too. Twitter broke the news to the world. Our office was buzzing about the attack minutes before the major news outlets had picked it up. We saw the horrifying photos, read the devastating and scary updates, and were searching for any information we could find. We decided to cease our daily tweets so that people were able to find relevant information without all the regular Twitter noise. This is a decision we came to as a group, and it was the only way we were able to feel comfortable. As people were trying to find their loved ones, Twitter became a tool and an important means of communication. We continue to see new powers of social media emerging.
As with all tragedies, the Boston Marathon brought out the best in people. Google and AirBnB did their part, providing the power of Google to search for people that may be missing and AirBnB, a company that provides accommodations, waived fees in Boston. This is in addition to the many people in Boston who went over and above their duty as citizens and helping however possible.
I hope all the runners and people affected endure a speedy recovery so they can get back out on the street and continue doing what they love; run.
Danielle is a Social Media Coordinator at 88 Creative. Follow her on Twitter at @DFabes
just so sad. there is nothing else to say. Let’s hope that this is not the end of marathons on a large scale and that runners will continue to run.
My heart goes out to all the runners and families affected by this senseless act. Only thing to do is move forward and continue to run with more conviction and more appreciation for these opportunities than before.
I respect the decision to hold off on prematurely reporting news. I find social media extremely helpful and it is definitely the way I was first exposed to the horrific event; however, it is hard to filter through the speculation and find the FACT. Especially as the story is progressing as our finger tips scroll through news feeds.
In a world where we are all journalists, how do you, as someone who collects and uses all sorts of information on a daily basis, deal with the information overload? Interesting post.
Needless to say, my heart goes out to all those affected on April 15, 2013.