I’ve wanted to be there, but I’m not fast enough. I live vicariously on Patriots’ Day each year through people I’ve never met in real life (such as @susanruns and @mattlegal). Their wonderful blog entries are full of excitement and commitment to excellence. The world-class athletes that are featured on the live stream I watch every year make it look so effortless. Pure inspiration to get faster so I too can travel to Hopkinton some day.

I had turned off the live stream after Jeptoo and Desisa finished, just keeping a tab open to see if Nurse on the Run could maintain her 3:10 pace for the second half of her race. Then a few tweets starting trickling in my feed about an explosion. Then another. Links to unimaginable photos and video. I was in shock.

Runners are a close-knit group. Every time I see a runner out somewhere, I tell my family “there goes one of my people.” Today hit straight at my heart. Not just for the runners, but also the spectators, the first responders that line the entire course, the volunteers. It could have been my kids waiting there for me to finish. Such a senseless tragedy.

So very thankful everyone I know is OK. Google has set up a page if you are looking for someone here. The official BAA site also allows you to search for people here. The American Red Cross has a page here for people to donate blood in Massachusetts (although you can always donate blood wherever you are). The official BAA Facebook page is posting frequent updates here.

Peace and healing to everyone in Boston tonight…