Boston Marathon Tragedy

Dear Team,

Yesterday I had no words to express what I was feeling and no capacity to process the range of responses I was experiencing: disbelief, shock, panic, outrage, disgust, horror, hope, sadness, depression, and - worst of all - fear.

The Boston Marathon means so much to so many of us. It is a long-term tradition for both the city of Boston and for members of the Boston Triathlon Team. It represents a day of competition, personal challenge, and the results of months of hard work. It represents volunteering, charitable donations, and support for our friends, family, and team mates. It's a day of accomplishment, a day of giving, and a day of celebration. It's an event many of us look forward to all year.

That has forever been changed. The question in our minds is why? Why would someone do something so horrific?

I won't attempt to answer that. Instead, I want to focus on the outpouring of support, caring, and giving. From our BTT doctors at the scene, to our team network using a combination of social media / email / text / phone to locate our team members quickly and reconnect them with family, to so many who offered their homes to those with nowhere to go, to everyone who is wearing a BAA shirt to work today. The number of phone calls, texts, email messages, tweets, and Facebook posts I personally received from friends, family, coworkers, and former BTT members from around the world simply astounded me. I know many of you experienced a similar outpouring of love and concern. Even in ugliness, the good will prevail.

The words above are my own, but I speak for the entire EC in that we are all truly stunned and saddened by the horrific events of yesterday. However, even in tragedy, it still feels amazing to be part of such a strong and caring community. We hope that friends and family of BTT remain safe. Please join us in keeping yesterday's victims, their friends, and their family in our thoughts during this unsettling time.