Boston Marathon

When I woke up this morning and heard the weather report from the east coast, I immediately thought about Bruce and the Boston Marathon. Bruce will be running this race for the third time today. He called me last week to tell me he would be there and that his number is 4114, so that I can track his progress on the Internet. Running and finishing the marathon is an achievement for anyone, but Bruce has shown dedication and spirit that makes him a true hero in my eyes. I hope that he managed to make it to Boston despite the weather.

I first met Bruce when he was 15, a freshman in my special education class. He was my student for the next four years, but he has been my teacher ever since our first meeting. While I was teaching him math, social studies and how to fill out an employment application, he was teaching me about determination, optimism, and making the most of your talents. I watched as he joined and competed on our high school cross country team and won the respect of his teammates and the other students in our school. This was not an easy feat. Though some of the students in my class were team managers or participated in Special Olympics, Bruce was determined from day one to be a part of the high school team. He sometimes got lost on the cross country courses, and he wasn’t a natural athlete. But he persevered, running not only during the team practices but on his own. He convinced coaches and friends to help him map out some routes in the community and remember them. By his senior year, he wasn’t the fastest runner on the team, but he was certainly one of the most respected.

Bruce is now in his thirties, living independently and employed full time as a busboy and dishwasher, a job he has held since high school. He runs, rides his bike and works out at our local recreation center. Running and bicycling have always been his mode of transportation around the community. He participates in local races and has come in second in his age class in the Akron marathon.

When he called last week, Bruce told me he doesn’t expect to win the race, that he will be somewhere in the middle of the pack. If he made it to Boston, the weather won’t stop him from finishing the race. He will do what he has always done since the day I met him, face all obstacles with optimism, determination and pure grit. He will not win the Boston Marathon today, but in the race of life, Bruce is a winner and an inspiration to me.