We Remember


Ross A. Alameddine, Christopher James Bishop, Brian R. Bluhm, Ryan Christopher Clark, Austin Michelle Cloyd, Jocelyne Couture-Nowak, Kevin P. Granata, Matthew Gregory Gwaitney, Caitlin Millar Hammaren, Jeremy Michael Herbstritt, Rachael Elizabeth Hill, Emily Jane Hilscher, Jarrett Lee Lane, Matthew Joseph La Porte, Henry J. Lee, Liviu Librescu, G.V. Loganathan, Partahi Mamora Halomoan Lumbantoruan, Lauren Ashely McCain, Daniel Patrick O’Neill, Juan Ramon Ortiz-Ortiz, Minal Hiralal Panchal, Daniel Alejandro Perez Cueva, Erin Nicole Peterson, Michael Steven Pohle Jr, Julia Kathleen Pryde, Mary Karen Read, Reema Joseph Samaha, Waleed Mohamed Shaalan, Leslie Geraldine Sheman, Maxine Shelly Turner, Nicole Regina White.

This list of 32 names probably doesn’t seem like a lot to most. Nine years ago on this day, April 16th, those 32 names disappeared from this earth in the Virginia Tech Massacre.
Today nearly 10000 runners took to the Virginia Tech campus to run 3.2 miles in memory of our fallen Hokies. I attended and ran the 3.2 for 32, and can only struggle to put into words the incredible atmosphere and amazing spirit of the running community around me. Everyone wrote on their race bibs why they were running that day. I saws people run for their loved ones, run for the memories of their fellow classmates, run for those that couldn’t be there to run with them today, run to never forget the tragedy that was April 16th. I saw the incredible spirit that is the running community as a whole, and how the simple act of running preserves the lives and memories of those lost to us.  The spirit that pushes through adversity and struggle and strife to come out the other side better than they were before. The spirit that inspires us to carry on when our bodies say no. The spirit that is an innate part of humanity that will never be lost.

The spirit of distance running triumphed today more than any bad events and tragedy ever could. During the run I thought about the reason I was out there, especially trying to remember the name of the shooter. I spent a solid amount of my run trying to remember the name of the perpetrator. I couldn’t, and that, is why the spirit of the running community helped continue to defeat our tragedy today.


I know this isn’t a typical post for this blog and not something that you might have been expecting to read today. But it’s something that was in my head today and that I wanted to share with you. As a reminder to enjoy the gift of running, and to enjoy the spirit of the running community. So for those that aren’t with us today, I encourage you to run a little further, run a little faster, kick a little harder, push yourself a little more. Whether you’re a Hokie or not, today is a good day to run fast.  

Yours,
-Paul Hayes

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