‘ We need to remember the spirit of running, how it keeps us joyous’
Bomb attack strengthens resolve of B. C. runners, Sun Run registration spikes
Karyn Mitchell can’t predict what it will feel like to race in The Vancouver Sun Run Sunday, less than a week after two bomb blasts shattered the euphoria she felt after completing the Boston Marathon for the third time.
All she knows is she’ll be at the start line, ready to run.
“There isn’t a negative thing about something like the Sun Run, why should we stop that for some senseless act that someone chose to do?” she said Tuesday while on a layover on her way home to Vancouver.
“I don’t want to give them any power and I don’t think it’s fair for us to not go because of fear like that.”
If anything, Monday’s tragic attack, which killed three and injured more than 170, has only heightened Mitchell’s resolve. And she’s not alone. Registration has spiked for the annual race since Monday and participants are being encouraged to honour the victims of the explosions by wearing the Boston Marathon colours of yellow and blue. There will also be an official tribute at the start line.
Jamie Pitblado, vice- president of promotions and community investment at the Vancouver Sun and Province, said 691 new participants signed up Monday, compared to 343 on the same day last year.
He said he expected Tuesday would also see higher numbers than last year by the time online registration for the race officially closed at midnight.
“I think we are seeing an increase. There seems to be a real encouragement on social media for people to come out and show support for the victims,” Pitblado said Tuesday.
The Sun Run is capped at 50,000 participants and there are less than 5,000 spaces left for late registrants, who can still sign up in person Thursday and Friday at BC Place. Pitblado said organizers may open up more spaces if there is “overwhelming demand.”
Canada’s largest 10- kilometre race will proceed as scheduled on Sunday, Pitblado said, noting he met with city staff, police and emergency responders Tuesday to review security protocol.
“We all agree that the plan that we have will ... accommodate the event that we’re having and certainly takes into consideration the safety of both participants and spectators,” he said.
“There was no need to change the plan or make significant additions.”
Mitchell said she wasn’t surprised to hear interest in the Sun Run had grown after Monday’s attack.
Runners, she said, are by definition resilient, supportive and determined. She isn’t totally fearless heading into Sunday’s race, however.
“I have a bit of a different perspective now, because I’ve never in my life worried or ever experienced something like this before and so I think it’s like anything, you sort of wonder what people are capable of doing,” she said. “It’s a bit strange.” One of 232 British Columbians who ran in Monday’s Boston Marathon, Mitchell finished in a time of 3: 24 — about 50 minutes before the first bomb went off. She was in a shopping centre across from the race site at the time. Her first inkling that something was wrong came when people started screaming and running outside.
“We didn’t know if it was a gunman or what.”
Mitchell ran outside just in time to hear the second explosion and made it back to her hotel — the Fairmont — just as the building went into lockdown. It remained in that state for six hours. The hotel had been the headquarters for the Boston Marathon’s elite racers, and many had gathered in the restaurant watching the news unfold on TV inside and the FBI and SWAT teams circulate outside.
“We were just kind of mesmerized,” Mitchell said.
Lost in the unfolding tragedy and the throng of media that followed was the significance of the race itself, which had had the whole city buzzing, she said.
“The entire city was electric with running.”
It’s that feeling she hopes to reclaim in Sunday’s Sun Run.
Siobhan McCormick is also refusing to let the bombings keep her away from Sunday’s race.
Moments after completing the Boston Marathon for the first time Monday, the two blasts occurred about 200 metres from where she stood. Covered in a blanket but without water, food, or dry clothes, she spent hours navigating the chaos as she tried to collect her things. But McCormick said she was touched by the dedication of race volunteers who stayed put despite the danger.
As terrible as the attack was, she said, it did seem to bring out the best in people.
There was an “openness and generosity of spirit” palpable after the blasts, she said. And on a visit to Cambridge, Mass. on Tuesday, McCormick said people gave her high- fives when they saw her Boston Marathon shirt.
“I kept on thinking how awful it is that somebody would do this at a sporting event, at a race ... but by the same token it’s in moments like that that people really pull together, that they take care of each other.”
Although she’s registered for Sunday’s Sun Run, McCormick said she’s too sore to race in the event. But it’s important to her to be there to cheer on her running mates who train with her running club that meets at The Right Shoe on West 4th Ave.
“Because that’s what runners do,” she said.
“I think we need to remember the spirit of running and how it keeps us alive and joyous ... I think it would be great if the Sun Run kept in mind the community in Boston and those who suffered loss.”