“If not me, then who…”

This morning I got up and ran the 9/11 Heroes Run. I haven’t ran a race since April and getting up early sounded like a terrible plan late last night when I couldn’t fall asleep. But I am so glad that I did.

Now, the running part wasn’t any more enjoyable than normal, I still run strictly get to the finish. But knowing I had to get back in the saddle, I went searching for my first Florida race. When I came across the Travis Manion Foundation and the 9/11 Heroes Run it really caught my eye. Travis Manion was a marine that served in Iraq. After being killed in action, Manion’s family started a foundation to provide support to other Fallen Heroes and their families.

The atmosphere this morning is hard to describe. It was patriotic but not overboard.  It was all-American. It was a different way of showing support and pride for your country besides shooting off some bottle rockets. My absolute favorite moment of the whole day was while a local girl belted out the Star Spangled Banner, an old veteran stood in front of the color guard saluting the American flag. I literally had to look away as the tears swelled up in my eyes. I’m not sure why it tugs on my heartstrings so much but every time I just can’t help but get emotional.

To be honest, I’ve never really done anything to honor 9/11 in the past. I know that makes me un-American or something, but I just never really thought to. I understand how tragic it was, and that is really changed the world as we knew it. I understand the thousands of lives lost and the hundreds of thousands more affected by it. But I never was really tied to it before.

Now, just because I ran some silly 5K race today doesn’t mean that I automatically know what so many people had to go through. Or that all of a sudden the events that took place 10 years ago are going to send me in a spiral of depression or anything. But I think it made me realize that it doesn’t have to be about being sad today. It is about embracing being American and just being so grateful that there are people out there who are willing to sacrifice their lives, willing to go thousands of miles away from everyone they love, willing to run into a falling building when everyone else is running out, just so I don’t have to. Not like “I” me… but like the every day Joe who can eat their pop tarts in peace on their couch in their underwear while watching American Idol. It’s because of people like Travis Manion and the 6000 other people who have lost their lives. People like Manion who said “If not me, then who…”

P.S. I didn’t mean to make this a quasi-political rant. Don’t judge me that I blogged about something cliché today!