OklaSports Perspective

In 2010, I ran. I ran a lot. All because on Sunday, May 1, 2010, I ran the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon. Half-marathon to be exact. My only goal was to finish and that I did. I was elated to know that I finished a mere 15 minutes ahead of the first place full-marathoner.

(AP Photo/The Boston Globe, David L Ryan) 

On Monday, at the finish line of the Boston Marathon, two separate bombs went off killing three people and injuring many more. The immediate reactions were fascinating. My thoughts were how strange it was that in Oklahoma City we run to remember the bombing victims and it serves as a qualifying race for the Boston Marathon.

Also interesting were the reactions of the students at the University of Central Oklahoma, where I work in student media. Some began racing to change how we would present the news at 5:00 and others were scrambling to redesign our newspaper. The debates never got too serious but the comments poured in throughout the remainder of the day about what had taken place.

Now a day later, the images forever burned in our memories, the tragic events of yesterday serve as an unfriendly reminder of the reality of life. What can happen in an instant, when no one is expecting it and changes our lives forever. I've heard people mention someone they knew that either ran in Boston yesterday or stood their cheering ultimately to scramble to a social media site to assure to their families of their safety.

These events are real and these events are sad. OklaSports just wants to tell the people involved, the people from across the world, they are being thought of.