April 21, 2014 - Boston on a Five Year Cycle

Beate Ritter

We started running in 2004 and at first never thought of doing a marathon. We just ran because it was fun. However, after a few weeks we signed up for a 10k race - my first - and we really enjoyed it! Then after a while we thought: "New York City Marathon. Wow, that would be the race!" So I started small: I did the Berlin Marathon in 2006 and NYC in 2007.

Our plans grew bigger and we signed up for our first Boston in 2009. We had a great race (although slow… Especially me!), but we finished and we decided to come back five years later!

Five years is a good length of time to look forward to something! But how shocking the April 15th bombing news on my birthday back in 2013! However, we decided to stay with our plans, and I was so glad to run my qualification time in Berlin 2013. We signed up early for Boston 2014.

April 15, 2013 - The sound of the bombs from the news went off in my head all night.

Diane Sherer

It’s been more than a year since I ran in the 2013 Boston Marathon, and I am finally writing my story — before it’s too late and I forget.

I have been running marathons since 2001, when I ran the White Rock Marathon in Dallas. I have since run more than a dozen or so – I lose track. I ran then because I loved to run. Boston was far from my mind. I had kids and work and life to deal with. I ran because it kept me sane. I ran because I loved to eat. I ran because it was my time to contemplate and talk to God (or running buddies!).

My first Boston Qualifying time (BQ) was in 2010 and was totally unexpected. My running buddy and co-worker Christy was training for her first Boston Marathon, having qualified the year before. She decided to run the Dallas White Rock Marathon as a training run, and I decided to run it, too. It was a freezing cold day in Dallas, and Christy and I shed our Goodwill throw-away clothes too soon at the start line, having to wait unexpectedly in a staggered start. When I got to the halfway point, I realized I was on track for a BQ and decided to try to keep up the pace. I finished in 3:58:50, ahead of my qualifying time of 4:00, if only by a few seconds per mile!

April 15, 2013 - if I had not stopped to give my daughter a hug, I might have been right there...

Michele Keane

The 117th Boston affected my life in ways I could not imagine would ever happen. And although I'm pretty rational and nothing physically happened to me, I still think about that day and what could have been.

I am a runner, with 45+ marathons and countless other races - half marathons, 10Ks, 5Ks, 15Ks, 10 milers - you name it. I've run pretty consistently for over 30 years and it is a part of me. I used to be "fast" back in the day but I can still hold my own in my age group. Running defines me to some extent. In fact, I have an ongoing joke with my daughter Shannon. When we travel to a place where I have run a race, I will say to her, "Mom ran here," and it has become our own little inside laugh and bond over the years.

However, I was not prepared for the events of April 15th, 2013.

April 21, 2014 - Cashing in on the "Old People Discount"

Lynn O'Neal

I started running at age 46 while living in Fulton, Mississippi. Since then I have been blessed with a great network of running friends who have encouraged me to keep improving.

I ran Huntsville’s Rocket City Marathon in 2011 and missed qualifying for Boston by about six minutes with a time of 4:01. With more intense training and lots more encouragement, I returned to Rocket City in 2012 and qualified with a time of 3:48:38. I tell people I got the “old people discount” because in between I had crossed over into the 50 year old age bracket. I don’t mind: I will take all the time the BAA will give me!

2013 - I was there. I should write something.

Beth O'Grady

I was there.

I should write something.

I was there at the start when the air was alive with energy and anticipation. I was there when runners who prepared for months nervously counted down to the start of the race.

I was there when it was a perfect day for running 26.2 miles, fueled by the energy of the volunteers and spectators lining the route. I was there when it was uplifting and exhilarating. I was there when it was a fantastic day to run the 117th Boston Marathon.