A chara, – When I was staggering through the last few kilometres in the Paris marathon just over a week ago I noticed an American girl near me who had given up running and had decided to walk. She must have trained for months, and the look on her face as she knew she wouldn’t finish it running was clear. I was very close to giving up and walking the rest as well.
Then I saw a French woman jog over to her, take her hand and begin talking to her. The American girl eventually started to run again and they ran hand in hand for at least a kilometre. It would be nice to say that they ran like that until the end, but I lost sight of them soon afterwards and don’t know how they finished.
At 37km in a marathon everything is hurting. Your body is screaming for you to stop and emotions are raw. For the majority of people taking part, at that point training means nothing. It’s your fellow runners who get you over the line. The experienced ones shout encouragement. The crowd bellowing at anyone whose name on the bib they can make out. Those last few kilometres were where I saw some of the most moving, natural expressions of human solidarity I’ve ever witnessed.
So when I read about the bombs in Boston, and the people dead and injured, I reacted strongly. But I know that whoever planted them will fail in whatever they are trying to achieve, and that people will continue to help each other over the line regardless. – Is mise,
DÓNAL MULLIGAN
College of Europe,
Gouden Handstraat,
Bruges,
Belgium.