Runners talk out Boston Marathon experience

A group of local runners who took part in this week’s Boston Marathon came together in Oakville tonight to try to deal with the horrific experience of this year’s race.

This was an extremely moving event, at times punctuated with tears; all of them, trying to come to terms with what happened in Boston.

These were some pretty high powered runners. Including 15 people who were in the Boston race this year, like Chris Kavanagh who hit the finish line six seconds before the first bomb went off. These runners are back in Oakville with their running group and trainer Steve Connor.

He called this meeting to get these folks to talk about the experience; to deal with the anger and the grief and the confusion. Some still didn’t want to. Others were describing what it was like to be in one of the world’s toughest marathons, and then have it end the way they did. But they were showing that same determination that got them to Boston in the first place.

Alistair Hood

“Runners are by nature a tough and resilient group. Our training is brutal, the marathons are tough. They messed with the wrong group and I feel even stronger now that I want to keep doing this, I want to go back to Boston. I’m not going to give up. They can’t stop me from doing something I love.”

Chris Kavanagh

“When we think about what happened on Monday, I doubt there’s a runner who was there who doesn’t have the resolve to return next year if possible. In large part it’s because no one is going to have the audacity to take this away. It’s not going to be allowed, and that’s the way we feel.”

Steve Connor

“One thing we always talk about is the highs, you have to keep them in mind. We will always win. The lows might be there but they won’t last forever because the high of the finish line is going to bring you back.”