Fittingly, no other great sporting event on earth is so radically egalitarian and free. Almost anyone can enter, of any gender, age, ethnicity, or creed; and elite international runners will compete beside first-time qualifiers and those in wheelchairs.
That radical openness extends to spectators, too. They need no ticket to watch, and are often separated from competitors by nothing but a strip of police tape and the invisible bonds of the social contract.
As we so often have been reminded since Monday, that very openness, and the invisibility of those bonds, is precisely what made the marathon look like a soft target. That target, though, is far harder than it seems.
If the bombs were meant to destroy the marathon or weaken the freedom it represents, they will miserably fail. My hope, and best guess, is that the 2014 Boston Marathon will be the biggest of all time. More competitors than ever will enter, and the largest crowd in history will show up to cheer them on.
Unquestionably, that 2014 field of competitors will also include victims of this week's blasts. Scarred, overcoming terror, missing an eardrum or even a limb, they will run, covering those 26 miles for themselves. But they will also run each mile for all of us. On that day, let no one say that a race can't impact the real world. Let no one claim that sports don't matter.
Monday was a horrible day, and we all must find our own ways to cope with horror. Guys, as we turn our eyes towards Boston, tell me yours.
–Hampton
At this point, Hampton, I still don't know how to shake Monday's grisly images and stories from my mind. But the quiet heroism of so many fellow citizens allows me to hold on to hope.
When confronted with a life-or-death situation, thousands of marathon participants, volunteers, and spectators chose to run into the smoke. No one could know if more bombs were rigged to blow, yet these men and women ran to help the injured without a second thought. Boston-area doctors have said that tourniquets applied at the scene by EMTs and Holiday Inn Express doctors alike saved several lives, and the Internet is replete with stories of a kind word, or a hug, or a finisher's medal, that in some small way beat back the horror of a very dark day.
Among those inspiring stories is the tale of marathon runners finishing the race and then running two more miles to Massachusetts General Hospital to donate blood. These weren't elite runners—most of them had braved the course in roughly four hours and were probably exhausted to the point of collapse. But they kept putting one foot in front of the other because other people needed their help. No terrorist, radical group, or malevolent individual can steal that collaborative spirit from us. As Hampton said, anyone who thought the marathon was a soft target is mistaken. Same goes for our collective courage and peace of mind.