Day 203: Boston Strong

Today’s was taken during the DMSE Classic, the first day of a two-day a celebration of running held at Merrimack College in North Andover, Massachusetts. It is an event run by my friend, Dave McGillivray, who also happens to be the race director of The Boston Marathon. The two day event features a 5K road race, a 10K road race )held today) and a half marathon (tomorrow). Only the pure of heart (crazy ones) do all three events,

Also featured on the first day of The Classic is the Celebrity Mile, which brings together dozens of local media personalities, professional athletes, notable amateur athletes and other figures of note for a friendly one mile race to celebrate the sport of running.

I am exceptionally proud to present this image of some of those “other figures of note” who participated in the Celebrity Mile.

These are five of the (many) people whose lives changed dramatically on April 15, 2013 — the day of the Boston Marathon Bombings. Each of these people have come to embody the phrase “Boston Strong,” the rallying cry for the City’s response and resilience in the wake of the bombing.

Adrianne Haslet: A runner and a dancer before the bombing, Adrianna returned to both running and dancing after her amputation and recovery. She has added Motivational Speaker to her resume. Adrianna returned to run the Boston Marathon in 2016.

Jeff Bauman: Lost both legs in the attack. He quickly became the “face” of the attack, due to the viral photographs of him being cared for immediatelyy after the bombing by Carlos Arredondo (see below).

Carlos Arredondo: Reluctant Hero. Carlos is a Gold Star Father. He lost a son to the war on terror. He was at the race that day cheering on people running for the Veterans’ charity he is involved with. When the bombs went off, he ran towards the explosion. He helped save Jeff’s life.

Henry Richard: Brother of Martin Richard, the 8 year old boy who was killed in the bombing and Jane, who lost a leg. In the wake unimaginable tragedy, Bill Richard (Henry, Martin and Jane’s dad,) founded The Martin Richard Foundation (MR8). The charity honor’s Martin’s message of peace by investing in athletics, education and community.

Dave McGillivray: Boston Marathon Race Director. To many, Dave is the face of the Boston Marathon. It has been part of his life since age a8 as a competitor, advocate and trace director. He took the bombings very personally. After the bombing he became the face of healing to so many. He became friends with many of the victims and actively participates in the many of the charities that sprung out of tragedy.

Capturing this moment, during the second half of today’s Celebrity Mile was truly special.

Yes, it is! Throughout 2017 I’m attempting to take a new image every day and post it to this blog. Ambitious, I know. Success is not guaranteed, but I’ll give it my all. You can see all of the images below. Just click on a thumbnail and flip through them.