In the 1970’s on Patriots Day, I would stand at the crest of Heartbreak Hill in Newton, Massachusetts cheering and clapping for those who had made it to the sign-less landmark in the Boston Marathon. I didn’t always get a spot to stand until the winners had passed, but I tried not to leave until the last straggler made it past me. To call it a hill is an exaggeration.

The slow incline that goes up for almost half a mile begins about twenty miles into the race. Most of the runners who made it to the top of the hill looked like it had taken every bit of endurance to keep moving forward. Their heads drooped; their eyes had lost focus and their fatigue was palpable. But when they heard the applause from the crowd, they raised their heads up and pushed out a smile, regaining some energy. They grabbed at cups of water held out to them, drinking on the run. If the day wasn’t cloudy or rainy, some poured the cup of water over their heads before tossing the paper cup to the tree belt. The supporters at the top of Heartbreak Hill weren’t as numerous as the crowd the runners had seen at the start or the people who would be waiting for those that made it to the finish line. I wanted to applaud the many who would win a personal victory through their endurance.

This year two bombs were detonated near the finish line, killing three and injuring more than 170. Many hearts were broken. The city and surrounding towns were in a lock-down, no public transportation ran, no businesses were allowed to open, everyone was told to stay home with their doors secured. People were constrained into seclusion between the time law enforcement teams killed one of the suspects in a street battle and the time when the second suspect was captured the following day. Parent’s had to find the words to explain to their children why they were quarantined on a beautiful sunny spring day.

Instead of the alarm of Paul Revere, “The British are coming!” people were more inclined to think it was now the terrorists who were attacking. Now it is the city and the marathon that will have to make it up a hill of pain and trauma before they triumph.