tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6165780438929797577.post6072693398875344683..comments2024-03-21T00:30:32.509-07:00Comments on From A Left Wing: The Vulnerable Spectacle: Notes on the Bombing of a MarathonUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6165780438929797577.post-31380149247138116162013-04-16T22:28:44.673-07:002013-04-16T22:28:44.673-07:00This is extraordinarily moving and smart. Thanks!...This is extraordinarily moving and smart. Thanks!<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01860801316690351240noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6165780438929797577.post-21659166449151592702013-04-16T20:12:05.740-07:002013-04-16T20:12:05.740-07:00Thanks for sharing that memory. Am recalling the r...Thanks for sharing that memory. Am recalling the recent cancellation of the NYC marathon, post Sandy. There's a reason people were really conflicted about what to do. <br /><br />One thing about this bombing - at 4 hours, that's a lot of people finishing. The people watching the race at that point are exactly not there for the world's elite runners, but for their friends, family, co-workers. Jennifer Doylehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05004554513454749517noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6165780438929797577.post-44217354967325267962013-04-16T20:06:23.144-07:002013-04-16T20:06:23.144-07:00I think civic hospitality is exactly right, perhap...I think civic hospitality is exactly right, perhaps in part because the marathon is an extreme event that ordinary people can complete, not in two and a bit hours but four or five, and it's still an achievement. One thing that struck me in relation to the bombing is that even elite athletes are exhausted and really vulnerable at the end of the marathon. But the marathon can be symbolic, too. I ran the New York marathon in 2001. The towers were bombed in September, and I think by the end of the month they had affirmed that the race would go on as scheduled in November. There were firefighters everywhere, with the runners cheering them as we went past, and people wearing t-shirts with the names of their dead on them. It was quite emotional, and a bit nervous, but also a celebration of the city--fundamentally an urban event, as you suggest--and I imagine that they will run the marathon in Boston next year, and it will function in the same way. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com