As you watch the day’s events unfold, so did those who ran in the Boston Marathon. Cumberland County runner, Patrick Hager, crossed the finish line before the bombings. Now, five days later, Hager is finding ways to re-group, as he remains glued to the television.
Since finishing the Boston Marathon on Monday, Hager, of Mechanicsburg, spends extra time in front of the television.
Hager says, “I want to know that the suspects are targeted and whatever happens to them, I want to know there’s closure.”
When it comes to healing, the Messiah College grad student and running coach says tuning into the TV doesn’t always help in the aftermath of the bombings.
Hager says, “Kinda always on your mind and you’re talking with people all the time.”
But Hager says watching the news unfold can offer a little hope. “You hear about Philly doing a run though the city that day and those are positive news.”
As he finds ways to get back on his feet, his friends say their perspective on the news is different from his.
Running partner, Patrick Roach says, “When you’re in the heat of the moment after finsihing a marathon, you’re a little delirious but back here you can’t control anything.”
Hager adds, “Then you go through the preparations and the race…glorious and painful, then you experience this. There’s an emotion there that is different from someone who was in the race.”
The runners agree, perspective may be different, but staying informed helps feed anyone’s curiosity.
Roach says, “Any act of terrorism can grip everybody, ever since 9/11, so that’s what’s drawn everybody in.”