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Health and Wellness

Boston Marathon Finish

I am safe.

As many of you know I ran the Boston Marathon today. I finished 20-30 minutes before hearing two loud booms from several blocks away. At the time there was no indication to me or the people around me that it was a bomb explosion. It wasn’t until seeing many emergency vehicles going to the scene that we quickened our pace to the car to learn the same news as many of you were learning it.

Right now my thoughts are with the friends and family of the runners and spectators injured and killed in the explosions. Their worlds have been turned upside down. They are in my thoughts and I ask that they be in your thoughts as well.

I am also thinking of our brothers and sisters at Boston EMS, Boston Fire, and Boston Police. They are dedicated professionals and I am confident in and reassured that they, along with runners and spectators, performed phenomenally in the minutes after the blast. Some of them might have seen injuries that no one should have to see and treat. For some this event will have a profound impact on their career and life. There immediate and long term health should be on our minds as well. Now and in the future.

The marathon is a celebration of the human spirit. It requires exceptional committment to train for 12 to 16 weeks to run 26.2 miles. The race is the celebration of the effort it took to prepare for the marathon. It saddens and angers me that some person or group would choose to attack the marathon.

The marathon is also a celebration for the family and friends of the runners. During the training meals were missed, kid activities were missed, and many many things took a back seat as mom or dad, husband or wife, son or daughter, or friend or co-worker trained for the marathon. For the runners that were not able to finish to day I still admire your accomplishment of training your body and preparing your mind to be a marathon runner. You are a marathoner.

For all of you that have contacted me by phone, email, text, Facebook, and Twitter, I am humbled by your concern and grateful for your friendship. Thank you. It means more than you can imagine.

Please remember the families really impacted by this today.

 

By Greg Friese

Greg Friese, Stevens Point, Wisconsin, is an author, educator, paramedic, and marathon runner.

Greg was the co-host of the award winning EMSEduCast podcast, the only podcast by and for EMS educators. Greg has written for EMS1.com, JEMS.com, Wilderness Medical Associates, JEMS Magazine, EMSWorld.com and EMS World Magazine, and the NAEMSE Educator Newsletter.