Today is tax day in the United States. It’s also a day that shares two different kinds of memories. In 1947, this is the day that Jackie Robinson broke Major League Baseball’s color barrier by playing in his first game for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Last year, on this day, another, less than great moment in sports happened…the bombing of the Boston Marathon.
This is how we should be remembering any marathon. The Boston Marathon is the race so many runners spend a lot of time trying to qualify for. It’s the Super Bowl of marathon racing in the United States because it’s so hard to qualify for. Instead of this, the world will likely remember the 2013 Boston Marathon for this…
It was a sad day. I was new to this running community. Yet, the news broke my heart. Here is my post from 1 year ago today. It was strange for me to read that post again and brought it all back. One of the runners in the Team runDisney Facebook group I’m part of blogged about her experience here as she crossed the finish line minutes before the first bomb went off. Lacey’s experience mirrored others I read who had already crossed the finish line. Her sister Meranda wrote a really nice blog today in remembrance of that tragic day. There are lost of wonderful articles to check out today in remembrance. People Magazine had this really nice piece about 5 of the survivors. I also liked this article in Sports Illustrated about Bill Iffrig who suddenly became the iconic picture of the scene. He’s the guy with the bright orange top who collapsed at the force of the explosion, but finished the race. I really liked this quote…
One thought overrode all others: I’m going to go over there and finish this thing. So he did. Iffrig picked himself up and stumbled toward the finish. He plodded sideways at times and needed assistance at others. But he crossed, his time good for fourth place among men age 75 to 79, bomb delay included.
The spirit of a runner is quite inspiring. As you can see in this article and video from Runners World Magazine, the running community is still going strong in Boston. Next Monday, it will awesome to watch as the 2014 Boston Marathon is staged. Many of those running in this race are those that did not get to finish last year due to the bombings. I’m sure the feeling of crossing the finishing line will be beyond words for those individuals.
I don’t ever want a post of mine to be entirely somber. So, I want to also include a landmark day in the sports world and in the Civil Rights Movement as well. Today, marks the day that Jackie Robinson became the first African-American to play in Major League Baseball. I really liked the above video as it captured Jackie Robinson’s legacy pretty well. After all, he did have a 10 year career in the Major Leagues and did more than just play baseball. The above video captures this pretty well. As I’ve learned more about this man, it’s surprising to know he played more than just baseball. One thing not mentioned in the video is that Jackie Robinson started college at Pasadena City College where I live. As a matter of fact, the football stadium is the Jackie Robinson Stadium at Pasadena City College. Until I took paralegal classes, I had no idea that he attended this school. Today, all Major League Baseball players will wear the number 42 in honor of Jackie Robinson. This number has been retired for every single Major League Baseball team.
To conclude this post for today, I want to dedicate this song to all the survivors among us. Whether it’s Jackie Robinson overcoming severe racial discrimination, people battling life threatening diseases, those that have survived the Boston Marathon bombings and continue on with life…we’re all Overcomers!
Why I runDisney 