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Roberta MacInnis, Houston Chronicle
It is the most basic and original of all sports – the first athletic activity that a child learns, the heart and soul of the original Olympic Games as well as the most recent – and the passion for it creates a special fraternity that transcends language, custom, class or national identity.
To run – one step in front of the other, ever disciplined, at measured speed and distance. To run – whether dash or marathon, solitary or in packs, on a springy track or surf-flattened beach, competitively or for the simple enjoyment of pushing oneself a bit farther, a bit faster. To run – an impulse no longer born of fear, but joy.
Walter Davis knows the thrill of wind rushing past his ears and of crossing the finish line, pain slowly subsiding, breath gradually returning. But he could not fathom the horrific pain of the finish line at the Boston Marathon Monday afternoon, when a pair of bombs shattered the joy of a perfect afternoon at one of the world’s greatest sporting events.
Davis, an assistant coach with the Katy Fit marathon training group, felt he had to act after spending hours at the television, trying to comprehend a terrorist attack that defied understanding. With images of blood on the sidewalk and maimed spectators fresh in his head, he decided to do the only thing he knew in tribute, in kinship with the fallen.
By Tuesday Davis had organized a 4.09-mile tribute run with his friends, the distance matching the time on the Boston race clock when the first blast detonated.
(Read the full story at Chron.com)
RELATED STORIES:
• Local marathoners react to Boston bombings, set sights on training (KHOU 11 News)
• Not intimidated by terror, Houston runners pound pavement (KRIV 26 News)
LOCAL AREA HEADLINES:
- Cameras throughout Houston may help prevent terroristic attacks (KRIV 26 News)
- Are Houston Streets Safe? ‘Walkability Audit’ To Determine Sidewalk Safety (KUHF Public Radio)
- BP sued again for gas release (Chron.com)
- Cellphone blamed for deadly wreck in Katy (KHOU 11 News)
- Help ‘Create A Safer Place for Me’ (KIAH 39 Newsfix)
- Katy ISD teacher one of five top teacher finalists (KTRK 13 News)
- Audit lets ‘lavish-spending’ UH professor off the hook (KHOU 11 News)
STATE HEADLINES:
- Legislator unveils another approach to insure low-income Texans (Austin Statesman)
- Bill Would Stop Private Lawyers Who Help Counties Sue For Pollution (State Impact Texas)
- Panel Debates Death Penalty Cases, Race Considerations (Texas Tribune)
- Livestrong Foundation and Austin Marathon end partnership (Austin Statesman)
- Report Urges Reduced Punishment for Prostitution (Texas Tribune)
NATION & WORLD:
- Senate still looking for votes on gun background checks (USA Today)
- Immigration bill filed in Senate; opponents hope to use delays to kill it (Washington Post)
- Clean energy progress too slow to limit global warming – report (AlertNet/Reuters)