In 2013, the Boston Marathon bombing took the lives of three people, and a young man finished this year’s Boston Marathon, in remembrance of his brother, Martin Richard, who was one of the victims.
“It’s beyond words I knew I could do it but it’s even more incredible than I ever imagined,” Henry Richard told ABC News.
Martin Richard, who was killed during the bombing, would have been 18 years old this summer, and Henry Richard knows that if his little brother was still here he would have been doing the race with him.
“That’s all I could think about,” he said.
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Their younger sister, Jane, was injured during the bombing and lost her leg.
Henry Richard ran with his sister and brother’s name written on his arms and made sure to take the time to stop at the memorial before making it to the finish line.
“There was so much emotion packed there everyone was cheering for me and taking that corner and seeing some family and close friends on that corner that meant a lot,” he said.
1 Corinthians 9:24 tells us that we must run our race, as Christians, to receive our spiritual rewards, “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it.”
Henry Richard finished the marathon in four hours, two minutes, and 20 seconds. His sister Jane and his parents were waiting there at the end in full support.
“So many people out there for me all my friends, my family, motivation was the least of my worries there was so many people to support me. It was wonderful I couldn’t believe it,” Henry Richard said.
Henry Richard plans to run the Boston Marathon again in the future, according to ABC News.