For as many joys as life has in store for us, it also carries with it the painful reality that we will one day lose someone close to us.
When that person sees it coming, we’ll sometimes find that they’ll try to soften the blow for their loved ones with a touching farewell or final gift . However, many of us have our own sorrowful reminders that not everyone has that luxury.
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Sometimes death comes suddenly and in the worst cases, it comes as a result of a tragedy that shocks the world. And while it’s bad enough when nature is responsible, it stings even harder when our loss comes from someone’s senseless act of violence.
But even from these dark chapters, we can see new life and new hope arise. And that hope propelled one man to follow in his brother’s footsteps in the most direct and powerful way possible.
On April 18, Henry Richards participated in the annual Boston Marathon for the first time.
And while it’s likely that he wasn’t the only runner to debut that day, he had a complicated reason for signing up.
According to Good Morning America , this was because his eight-year-old brother was among the three people who died after two bombs exploded near the marathon’s finish line on April 15, 2013.
And as you might expect, Richards’ run was planned as a solemn tribute to his brother.
In addition to writing his name in black marker on his right arm, he made sure that his jersey had the word “peace” written on it.
You’ll also notice that he ran for “Team MR8,” which is a reference to the Martin Richards Foundation that launched in the child’s honor in 2014.
Although Richards would end up crossing the finish line in triumph, he made sure to stop at the marathon’s memorial for the victims of the bombing before he did so.
In his words, “I know if he was here, either this year or the next coming years, he would have been doing it with me. So that’s all I could think about.”
As soon as he finished, Richards then embraced his parents and his sister Jane in an emotional moment.
As he put it, “So many people were out there for me. All my friends, my family. Motivation was the least of my worries. There was so many people there to support me. It was wonderful and I couldn’t believe it.”
Although this marked the end of his first time running the Boston Marathon, it’s unlikely to be his last as he said he loved every second of it and can’t wait to do it again.
h/t: Good Morning America
