By Natalie Waller–April 15, 2013, was a sad day for not only Boston, Massachusetts, but for the whole country. The Boston Marathon was taking place in the busy city and many people were visiting to watch this great event. This great event turned into a nightmare quickly when two bombs went off near the finish line. One year later we are celebrating the anniversary and trying to make what was ruined into a joyous day again.
The horrible explosion killed three people and injured 264. The people ranged in ages from young children to some older men and women. The bomb was placed in the crowd and hurt runners, families of runners, and spectators there to simply watch the great event.
Courtnie Voss and her family were at the race and taking part in the race. Courtnie’s brother Jamison is legally blind and wanted to run the race. Therefore her family decided to take part and help him. Courtnie, her mother, and cousin were able to take turns being a guide for Jamison as he ran the whole race.
Jamison and his mother were running the race at the time of the bombing. They were .2 miles away from the bombing with the rest of their family blocks away trying to get to the finish line to meet them. Courtnie explained the experience as a “Shock to everyone and then moments later it was utter panic.” She said the cops immediately tried to get everyone away from the area of the bombings. They eventually were forced to leave the area completely without Jamison and their mother. They did communicate with them after a while through their cell phones to know that they were not injured but sadly did not finish the race.
Jamison said, “That night when we were back in our hotel we were watching the news of everything that happened and even then, it still didn’t register that we were there.” To the Voss family the events happened so quickly that they seemed numb to what was going on around them until they were all together as a family again. Family and friends were contacting them quickly and often to ensure that they were all safe.
The Voss family did not let this event bring them down or crush their dreams though. They returned to Boston this year to finish what they went there to do the first time. Courtnie said, “Our teams mentality now is to make this a happy event once again. We don’t want to let someone ruin our fun. We want to go there, cross the finish line and celebrate the amazing experience we had.”
They did accomplish this goal and are celebrating now. The Voss family all finished the race this year and now has many stories to tell about their experiences with the Boston Marathon. They did not let a bad decision by others ruin this experience and are proud to be Boston Strong.
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