Seeing both sides of the Boston Marathon discussion

I was talking to a friend Monday night who is a marathon runner.

Although he did not participate in the Boston Marathon this year, it was on his bucket list. Now he’s not so sure he wants to keep it.

Monday, as he put it, was “runner’s 9/11” because, as he stated a number of times, “nothing will be the same at races.”

For years, the Department of Homeland Safety has been warning us of places and gatherings that are defined as “soft targets” and Monday was a cruel and tragic example of exactly what that term means.

But I hope it’s not different for runners and sports fans. I will not cancel my Cardinals or Coyotes season tickets. In fact, I was at the Coyotes games Monday night and didn’t worry.

But I feel for my friend who said that his passion and the enjoyment he gets from running long distances in organized events will never be the same.