Boston Marathon 2014- Documentary-Danny Style

Amber Strong-Boston Strong

On Monday, I will be running in the Boston Marathon. I decided to do it shortly after last year's bombings as a show of solidarity for the running community and to show the world that we will not be bowed by acts of terrorism. However, due to my marathon schedule and having run two marathons within 22 days of Boston, I will not be racing Boston. I originally thought that I would act as a guide for a visually impaired athlete but it appears that every one is spoken for and there is not a need for me to help out there.

So instead, I've decided that I'm going to use the marathon as 26.2 miles worth of documenting runners, spectators, and volunteers all coming together for the marathon. I plan on bringing my phone and go-pro and take as many pictures and conduct as many interviews along the way as possible. I may even tweet, tweet.

I start in the first corral so this should be an interesting experiment as I will be able to capture a wide array runners as I am sure to be passed by thousands of runners as I stop along the course to take pictures of spectators and race officials. I will actually probably start interviewing people at the expo.  I'm sure many of you are suspecting that I'm doing this so I don't have to make excuses for my slow time and you would be right:)

But it would also be wrong. I didn't sign up for the marathon for myself  and don't now want to turn this into another race about me. By taking photos and videos of all the other people, who like me, decided that they would not be deterred by acts of violence, we can demonstrate that we will come together to support everyone affected by last year's bombings, the city of Boston, and all runners everywhere who may have considered avoiding races out of fear of more terrorist attacks. Wow, that was quite the run-on sentence. But I hope that I can make this about more than one person or race and rather about all the good that running can bring to individuals and the community.

So if you're running, volunteering or spectating at the race, make sure to get my attention so I can capture your courage for joining me celebrating the lives of those taken too early or affected by the bombing and just the joys of life in general. It is good to be alive and let's not let fear stop us from enjoying it.

See you on Monday!