Class was canceled this Monday. Officially, the reason for this was Patriot’s Day. Unofficially, however, the reason was Marathon Monday. One of Boston’s biggest annual events (second only to the Fourth of July celebration), the Boston Marathon drew huge crowds this weekend. Claire and I volunteered on Saturday at the Adidas booth at the expo. Adidas is the official clothier of the marathon, and they make a hugh profit off of all the people coming in to buy the official Boston Marathon jackets and other marathon-related clothing. On Saturday alone, two days before the race, crowd control was a major part of the store. Because of the fact that, in order to run the Boston Marathon, a runner must qualify with another marathon (three hours ten minutes for my division), this race is a bit of a reunion. This is also the reason that people take out their old jackets from other marathons, to sport their histories on their backs and make connections with other runners who share that history. I noticed jackets from the Chicago marathon, the New York marathon, the St. George marathon, and many others. The city has, for this reason, been buzzing with tourists lately.
On Monday, Back Bay and the Public Garden were absolutely packed. Because school was canceled (the runners go right down the center of Boston University’s campus) I went cycling in the morning and made it into town in the late afternoon. There is a huge amount of support for runners at this marathon. I have never been to any other running races, so I don’t have much to which I can compare my experience. However, I was amazed at the people lined up on Boylston Street, just to watch the runners. It was analogous to the Independence Day parade in Crested Butte, CO. People bring out their camping chairs an hour before the first runners come through, people are squeezing onto the curbs, city cleanup is going to have an eventful night, etc. I was especially impressed by the cheers of the crowd, even late in the afternoon, as the last wave of runners finished.
Perhaps the most inspiring aspect of the race, to me, was seeing runners’ families jump across the guard rail onto the road, running with their mom, dad, sibling, cousin, etc. for the last quarter mile or so, crossing the finish line together. The fact that these runners, totally exhausted and (for many) in pain, cross the finish line with their family is incredible. I have been thinking a lot about it, trying to consider myself in their position. I am not much of a runner, and though I have tried to get into the sport several times, I much prefer cycling. I admitted that running a marathon would be a huge accomplishment, but I have never had the motivation to train to that point. However, I think that I would be able to run all 26.2 miles if I knew that my family were at the end, waiting to run across the finish line with me. That would make all the pain during training and the race worth it.
Thinking about it more, I have started seeing the marathon as an allegory for life, especially the family aspect of it. Everyone in a family is on their own, separate path. For example, the goals my siblings and I have are about as polar as is possible, despite the fact that we share the same genetics. One of my brothers is a musical genius and spends every free minute he has rock climbing. My sister competes in dressage competitions with her horse (naturally) throughout the western United States and is the life of the party, even when she is the only one at the party. My other brother can draw and paint better than I will ever be able to, and he can longboard down the really steep hill in my parents’ neighborhood (I can longboard down the driveway, almost). I am the brother who spends hours and hours with books and Microsoft Word, and then goes biking. Our interests and talents have taken us on very different paths. In essence, we all run our own, separate marathons. (Getting married, I have realized that the marathons my wife and I are running are now the same, which is really, really sweet. I have a permanent figurative AND literal running buddy! However, there are moments when our paths diverge momentarily.) Anyways, the point is that within a family everyone runs their own separate race, but at the finish line, everyone is there, waiting and cheering. Every single accomplishment is an accomplishment for the family. Each tinge of chondromalacia, each bite of plantar fasciitis is worth it because the people we love are there for us, and will be there to run across the finish line with us. While everyone has his or her own goals, accomplishing those goals are so much sweeter because of the fact that they can be shared. That is the reason why entire families fly to Boston for this race, not just the runners.
I can’t say that I played a major part in the marathon this year (though I did make life easier for a few Adidas employees). However, I learned an incredible amount about the purpose of family. Family truly is irreplaceable, and a divinely ordained institution. Furthermore, the blessings of having a family that will continue after death, made possible through the restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, are extraordinary. Where I would be without my family, I have no idea, and I am eternally grateful that I don’t ever have to find out.
