How a Marathon Changed My Life
Marathons change lives for a lot of people. For many, running a marathon is a lifetime goal. It is a culmination of years worth of effort, determination, and grit to cross a finish line exhausted and be recognized as one of a select few who has chosen to not only run but finish a 26.2-mile race.
While I wish I could count myself among those select few as my wife can, I have not run a full marathon. I do have a couple of half-marathons under my belt, but this post is about running a different kind of race.
April 15, 2013, was a day like any other to me. I was milling about my college town doing all the things that I needed to do for a Monday. I was coming up at a crossroads in my life. In the next few weeks, I would be graduating from college and it would be up to me what the next chapter would look like.
I was a double major in Criminal Justice and Spanish and had always aspired to a career in federal law enforcement. As I entered my senior year and began researching federal jobs, I realized that many of them required more experience than I possessed. The competition was fierce, and a lot of the job boards and advice columns indicated that you needed to have some additional skill or degree in order to be looked at seriously.
There was another side to me that wondered if law enforcement was for me. Maybe I should go to graduate school and get a degree in another field that would allow me to get a normal career like almost everyone else. I was tired of the idea of law enforcement after evaluating the federal level and seemingly being told that it wasn’t an option. In the fall of my senior year, I took the GRE and applied for graduate programs in public relations and telecommunication/film. I was accepted to the programs a short time later, and I figured I would finish up the school year and decide which direction made the most sense when I got there.
In the spring, I entered my last semester of college. I had completed all my coursework except a criminal justice internship. I interned at the Alabama State Bureau of Investigation and was able to put in a significant amount of hours given my lighter course load. I met a lot of great people through that internship who worked for the state as well as others who worked for municipal police departments. I did some ride-alongs and became very interested in the possibility of working at the state or local level to build some experience before transitioning to the federal government.
I wasn’t sure what direction to go. Law enforcement was cool. They drove fast. Their uniforms were pressed. They were fun to be around and had a great sense of humor. It was like a club to be part of that was earned through hard work, service, and diligence, much like the marathon club.
On the other hand, graduate school was safe. It would allow me to complete another degree in a field that could open some new doors. I could have a normal career with normal hours and probably more money.
On April 15, 2013, the decision was still not made. I was piddling around my mundane duties for Monday. I remember coming home from being out somewhere and working on things around the house. I turned on the TV to see if I could find something to watch while I worked on chores.
As I flipped through the channels, I saw images on the news channel that gave me pause. Plumes of smoke in crowds of people. Tons of neon traffic vests worn by police scouring the scene. It took a few seconds to register what I was seeing. I read the “Breaking News” graphic at the bottom of the screen which informed me that the Boston Marathon had been bombed.
Two bombs detonated within minutes of each other in the crowd.
Multiple fatalities.
Many injured.
No suspects.
It was horrifying. I imagine it must have been in some way how many felt on 9/11. I was in 5th grade during 9/11 and didn’t have a full understanding of the gravity of that situation at the time.
But I wasn’t a kid anymore. I was 21, about to graduate college, and witnessing an attack on one of the most popular cities in the country at one of the biggest events of the year. It was scary, but I was glued to the TV. I watched the coverage for the rest of the day.
The next day, I followed the news as I went about my daily duties. I needed to know what was happening and if they were making any progress in finding the person or people responsible. I had always been drawn to the world of law enforcement. I grew up in a law enforcement family. I read crime books as a kid and always saw myself as part of that world one day.
But this was the real world. This is what law enforcement officers are tasked with when they take an oath. There is no easy route when something happens. On that spring day in April, the officers showed up to work a race, probably on overtime and little sleep, and didn’t get to go home for who knows how long after the event was bombed. And I’m sure they didn’t want to go home. They wanted to stay and do everything they could to make a difference and help find the people responsible. That was sublime to me.
I watched the events unfold over the next few days. The murder of MIT Police Officer Sean Collier. The shootout in Watertown. The death of Tamerlan Tsarnaev. The manhunt for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev across Boston after they shut the city down. The surrender of the terrorist as he stands up in the boat with a laser sight trained on his forehead. The arrest and the call of “One in custody.”
It was something straight out of an action movie. I was riveted. I understood the danger was real and the horror that ensued as a result of the actions taken by these two brothers, but I desperately wished that I could have been part of something that mattered so much. I beamed with pride as I watched the crowds celebrate in Boston and across the country after the arrest. I felt indescribable empathy and support for the officers that they posted on the front cover of Sports Illustrated. Neon traffic jackets. Running. Guns drawn. Eyes wild, but focused. Bravery.
The FBI was involved in the investigation, and they deserve a significant amount of credit too. But the piece I was drawn to the most was those cops that were first on scene. The ones out there working who happened to be asked to do the unthinkable. Triaging the injured and helping evacuate the ones who could move. The images I saw from the ground after the bombing spoke to me. Those officers casting aside their own safety for the sake of others was immensely moving.
I had never felt anything so strongly before. I wanted to be part of that culture. That family. I wanted to be tied into the thin blue line because it represents the difference makers. The line between good and evil. Between monsters and men.
I wanted to be in a position to do good for others, and it seemed the most good could be done from the front line. In my mind, that was the state or local police. The federal option had always been what I had considered until the internship opened my eyes to the state and local levels. After the Boston Marathon bombing, the impact I felt most significantly was from the work that was done by those Boston and Watertown cops. That’s where I belonged. I needed to be in a career that mattered. And, at that time, I couldn’t see anything that mattered more in the world.
Graduate school quickly went from a good option with a normal life to a boring option with a meaningless future in my eyes. I needed to be part of the law enforcement world, even if it meant difficult hours and lower pay.
After the events in Boston came to a conclusion on Friday, April 19, my decision was made. I took the weekend to get my application materials in order. I applied on Monday, April 22nd. One week after the bombing in Boston.
I went through the written tests, polygraphs, interviews, and fitness tests. I passed all stages and five months after applying, I started at my first police department as a police officer recruit on September 28, 2013. Seven months after that, I graduated from the police academy as a fully certified police officer. Graduation was just shy of the one- year anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombing. I had never been more proud.
Marathons change people in a lot of ways, but the Boston Marathon of 2013 was one that changed more people than any other. The bravery and courage shown by so many on that day will live on forever. Many people’s lives were affected that day, and not in the way that a marathon is supposed to positively impact a life as an accomplished goal. Bystanders were injured and killed just because they showed up to support people who were doing something to better themselves.
But the police also showed up. They stood in the face of danger and filled the void as they banded with so many others to help those around them. They worked diligently to find the people responsible and ensure they never will have the chance to hurt anyone else ever again.
Patriots Day of 2013 will forever be a monumental moment in my life. It changed the course of my career path. It led me to nearly a decade of public service as a police officer. It offered me the opportunity to help others. It put me on a path to the career I have today. For that, I am thankful.
Despite the heartache and awful circumstances surrounding the Boston Marathon on that day, it had some positive elements too. It showed the good in people. It showed how partnership and the common good create significant value. It inspired the next wave of cops to sign up and do the best they can to make sure something like that never happens again.
For me, a marathon changed my life. Not because I ran one but because it provided the catalyst needed to fully pursue a life in law enforcement. I wish the Boston Marathon bombing never happened. But if it hadn’t, there’s a chance that I would be going into an office living a life wondering what it may have been like if I had signed up for the police department all those years ago.
Instead, I lived that life. I made a difference. I showed up for other people. I worked all the races and events I could. I kept a watchful eye for anyone who would look to do harm. And I got to put away a few people who were living a life intent on hurting other people.
A few years back, I had the chance to go to Boston. I made time to go to the finish line for the Boston Marathon. I spent a few minutes there thinking about the impact that day had on my life so many years ago. Boston will always hold a special place in my heart because of what it went through and for what it led me to in my own life. My course was surely changed as a result of a marathon, but it may not look how you would have guessed.
