April 17, 2013
“The Boston Marathon: All My Tears, All My Love”
In his blog post for The Nation just a few hours after Monday’s tragic events, Dave Zirin wrote, “The Boston Marathon matters in a way other sporting events simply do not.” He was writing from his heart, a heavy heart, as he spoke about the spirit of the Boston Marathon and its deep meaning to so many people in so many ways and how it had now been “brutally disfigured.” He mourned the dead and injured. But at the same time he spoke of resilience and hope as he wrote: “Like a scar across someone’s face, the bombing will now be a part of the Boston Marathon, but also like a scar, we have to remember it’s only a part. If this bombing will always be a part of the Boston Marathon, then so is Kathrine Switzer. I want to tell the story of Kathrine Switzer because it’s about remembering the Boston Marathon as something more than the scene of a national tragedy.” We’ve talked before about Kathrine Switzer here on our EEWC-CFT website. Switzer is the courageous first woman to run the Boston Marathon at a time when women were prohibited from participating. Zirin’s essay shows how thinking about her again at this time can lift our spirits. He reminds us of her statement: “If you are losing faith in human nature, go out and watch a marathon.”
