Welcome to the second BlogFlash event! The first (#BlogFlash2012) was so well received that we decided to run it twice yearly. It’s a great opportunity to get creative, meet other bloggers and get a new audience. Whether you join us for the full month or just a few days, the main aim is to have fun and be inspired. Anything else is a bonus. Worried about word count? Don’t be! It’s a guideline so the month doesn’t feel overwhelming but if you feel inspired to write more, feel free. Good luck!

#BlogFlash2013: Day Eleven – Running (Marathon Monday)

In Boston, Patriot’s Day-also known as Marathon Monday-is one of the most celebrated and fun days of spring. Every year, tens of thousands of runners line up on Main Street in the lovely rural town of Hopkinton to begin the 26.2-mile race into the heart of downtown Boston. While we watch the Olympians with a mix of wonder and delight, it’s the wheelchair racers, many of them elite athletes, and the resolute runners at the middle and in back of the pack who inspire us and warm our hearts.

#BlogFlash2013 (March): Day 11 - RunningRunning 26.2 miles is a feat of endurance and strength, not just physically, though of course it is a physical test, but mentally. We cheer the mom who lost 100 pounds and runs to stay fit, as well as the athletes running for a charitable cause. We’re inspired by the eighty-three-year-old man who began running at age 72, and by 26-year-old Katherine Lynch, who at only 28 inches tall, weighing just 35 pounds, came out of her walker in 2001, toed the line at the start, and walked 26.2 feet on her own.

We’re inspired, too, by our friends who don’t make the papers-the woman struggling to make it up Heartbreak Hill and the teenage boys who run like gazelles.

On Marathon Monday, whether watching TV or standing along the route, handing out juice or cheering the exhausted runners on, witness to the determination and pain on their faces, we’re awed by the strength of thousands of everyday heroes.

Running tips from four-time marathon winner Bill Rogers.

Next prompt: Music (18th March)

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