So me and Mary got our butts downtown for a prayer service at the Survivor Tree around 5:30 am (the last time I was up that early was when I pulled an all-nighter after the Harry Potter premiere in November...and everyone at the UW remembers what I was like the next day) and at that time it was a lovely 55 degrees and dry. Not kidding, 5 minutes later, we were freezing cold and soaked through. And we still had another hour before we even started our run. Needless to say, it could have been an absolutely miserable experience, but this is Oklahoma. And this was the 11th annual OKC Memorial Marathon, where this incredible city comes together to remember what happened to our community 16 years ago on April 19th, 1995. I was only 6 on that awful day, but I remember it well. And it is the most heart-warming feeling to see the survivors and the family members left to grieve their loved ones and hear their stories and see just how far this city has come. It was too perfect that on the day of this marathon, the Oklahoma City Thunder hosted the Memphis Grizzlies in the second round of the NBA playoffs. NBA PLAYOFFS!?! Oklahoma City? It is a mark of just how much we have progressed here to know that those two things are now synonymous. If you grew up around this area, you know exactly what I mean. 16 years ago, the only sport anyone here cared about was played between September and December and the name of the team had "University" in it. We wouldn't have dreamed that an NBA team would ever come here. But this is 2011 and Oklahoma City looks very different.
For one thing, this now sits at the center of our beautiful city:
168 glass chairs, representing 168 empty seats at 168 dinner tables. This is why we ran. We may have been young when it happened, but we've seen firsthand how our community reacted and it was nothing short of a miracle. It has come to be known as the "Oklahoma Standard" and I've never been so proud to call myself an Oklahoman. Mary brought the following testimonial from another runner to my attention a few days before the marathon and it just seems so incredibly appropriate, especially considering the events surrounding Osama Bin Laden that have occurred in the last 24 hours:
"Like everyone else in this country, I was horrified by what I saw on the news on April 19, 1995. It was hard to imagine something like that could ever happen in our country. Especially when we found out it was carried out by some of our own people. But like most people in this country, to me it was a horrible story that happened to somebody I never met and it was something I would never experience. That all changed one Tuesday morning when I went to work and somebody intentionally flew a jumbo jet into my office building. On September 11, 2001, my city became that place that everybody watched on TV in horror. But eventually they shut off their TV's and went about their lives. Yet only one American city understood what we were going through and knew what it was like to join this club that nobody wanted to become a part of. And that was Oklahoma City. Right from the beginning, people from Oklahoma City came to New York to help with the recovery effort and to comfort the family members and survivors. And eventually, that was how I came to meet survivors from the Murrah Building. Over the following years, I became close friends with these people. When they told me about the Memorial Marathon and what it represented, I knew I wanted to become a part of it. Not only to show my personal appreciation for what you did for us but to show the solidarity between our two cities. Two very different places that showed in a very similar way what it's like to stand up to adversity. And so I have to come to Oklahoma City for 5 years to run the half-marathon. This is just an incredible gathering that shows that good will always overcome evil. And that even from the worst possible acts in human history, something good can result. Thank you Oklahoma City for helping New York City when we needed it most and for letting me take part in this great event."
After reading that, it makes our small obstacles and miseries seem like absolutely nothing. The best part about my first half-marathon (and I'm sure Mary can attest to this as well) wasn't necessarily finishing (although, yes, it was a very very close second). It was seeing all the people who came out to support us. Even in the 40-degree weather, pouring rain, freezing wind and hail. Complete strangers dragging themselves out of their warm beds on a Sunday morning to stand in the rain and give us high fives, scream encouragements, and provide us with water and snacks. That was the only thing getting me through mile 11. And the reason I sprinted mile 13. And why I smiled as I crossed the finish line, right behind a group of five women who walked across that line, holding hands, hugging and crying. THAT is the Oklahoma Standard. On April 29th, 2012, you will find me on that course again, hell or high water.
As the announcer said before the starting shotgun, following the most chilling 168 seconds of silence I've experienced, "We run to remember. We will never forget them."
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