Bombs — not guns — killed three people and injured at least 176 in Boston on Monday afternoon, but the words of retired American distance runner PattiSue Plumer cut pretty damn close to the bone.

“The gun goes off and everything changes … the world changes … and nothing else really matters.”

During a week when someone took the joy out of running for athletes, casual spectators and couch potatoes alike, let’s celebrate the moments in history when the power of running — and good nature of cool people — beat any bastard.

1. John Stephen Akhwari: He’d never run a marathon before, but when the Tanzanian destroyed his leg during the Mexico City marathon in 1968, he didn’t stop. “My country did not send me 5,000 miles to start the Olympic Marathon,” he said at the time. “They sent me 5,000 miles to finish the race.”
2. Team Hoyt: Iron Man Hall of Famer Dick Hoyt’s son Rick was born with cerebral palsy, but Hoyt wanted his son to have the experience of an athlete. During triathlons, Hoyt pulls his son in a boat through the swimming portion and pushes him in a wheelchair while running the marathons. Together, they’ve competed in 247 triathlons and 70 marathons, 30 of which were the Boston Marathon.
3. Paula Radcliffe: Her competitors could spot her skinny legs, nasal strip and knee-length compression socks from a mile away during competition. Throughout her track career, the British long-distance runner just couldn’t win the gold. Sports commentators said she never would. Radcliffe thought otherwise. In 2003, she set the marathon world record at a freaky-fast 2 hours, 15 minutes, 25 seconds in London before being invalidated because of changing criteria in 2011.
4. Rodger Bannister: “The time was three …” rang out over the PA system on May 6, 1954, at the Iffley Road Track in Oxford, England, moments before the speaker was drowned out by screaming fans. Today, the 84-year-old running legend might struggle to bend over, but on that historical day, Bannister was the first man to zoom through a mile in less than four minutes — a hero among men.
5. Galen Rupp: Unless you’re a 10,000-meter fan, you might not have heard of this 5-foot-11, 138-pound American runner. But Rupp’s silver medal in the 2012 London Olympics was the first time a U.S. male received any medal in the Olympic 10,000 meters in 48 years. No mean feat.
6. Billy Mills: Orphaned at 12 years old, Native American Billy Mills grew up on a South Dakotan reservation. He joined the U.S. Marine Corps and made the 1964 Olympic team for the 10,000 meters and marathon. For no reason other than true grit, Mills won, beating the favorites for a gold medal. Officials at the finish line asked, “Who are you?”
7. Derek Redmond: This British sprinter tore his hamstring during the 400-meter semifinal at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona. His dad ran onto the track, hitched his son’s arm over his shoulder and they hobbled down what was left of the race together. The crowd went wild.

While remembering these heroic feats, spare a moment for Martin Richard, 8, who died Monday waiting to cheer on his dad crossing the Boston Marathon finish line.

Don’t forget the runners who lost the chance to race again. It’s impossible to explain why people do bad things, but pull those sneaker laces tight, hit the road and breathe the air.

Because no one can ever steal a runner’s high.

Iona Holloway is a senior magazine journalism and psychology major. RIP Boston Marathon victims. Visit her website www.ionaholloway.com, email her at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter at @ionaholloway.

Published on April 17, 2013 at 12:38 am