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Maryland runners raise funds for Boston hospital that treated bomb victims


Sixty-six runners dashed, jogged and walked through the streets of Annapolis on Saturday to honor the victims of the Boston Marathon bombing and raised money for one of the hospitals that treated their wounds.

"When I saw what happened in Boston, I knew we had to do something, and we had to run," said Caitlin Chapman, who organized the race and got quick permission from an Annapolis official to stage the start and finish at City Dock.

"It could have been any of us running in that race in Boston," Chapman said, "and it could have been our family members who were standing there watching us finish."

Chapman posted an invitation to the Run For Boston 5K on Facebook, and Matt Leaman, a runner from Bolton Hill in Baltimore, and his friend, Melissa Vanni of Laurel, quickly pitched in to help.

"Being a runner, of course, it got to me," Leaman said of the Boston bombings. "I mean, seeing the video of the crowd and the runners — those are people just like me, and some of them will never run again."

After a moment of silence on City Dock, the runners took off on a course that took them past St. John's College, around Church Circle, through downtown Annapolis and the restaurants and gifts shops, to Compromise Street, over Spa Creek and back to City Dock.

First to finish was Tom Hattar, long-distance runner, running coach, and doctor for the team from the U.S. Naval Academy that competed in the Boston Marathon.
On Monday, the 52-year-old Hattar crossed the finish line on Boylston Street for the 11th straight time, clocking in at 2 hours, 59 minutes and 16 seconds.

That put him nearly two hours ahead of the bombs.

Eight members of the Navy team he helps train finished even faster than their team doctor, and a couple were just behind him. Overall, Navy was eighth among the 66 teams to compete in the annual race.

All but two of the midshipmen had completed the marathon before the bombs went off.

By then, Hattar and the rest of the team had made their way to a Coast Guard station in the North End for a shower.

"It was about 45 degrees in Boston," Hattar said, "so I didn't do what I've done for nine years, which is stay at the finish line and help out. The ER doc there said he didn't need me. … Last year, it was nearly 90 degrees the day of the race and I had to stay and tend to my Mids."

Hattar has thought about that all week — how the race-day temperature probably kept many runners from needing medical treatment at the finish line and lingering there.

"I was shocked, just numb," he said of his reaction to the bombings. "I feel I've really just woken up to what happened."

Sporting his yellow-and-blue Boston Marathon running shirt, Hattar knocked off Saturday's Annapolis 5K in 15 minutes, 48 seconds. Members of the Navy marathon team were all immersed in final exams, Hattar said, so he ran to represent them.

The 5K raised more than $1,000 for the emergency medicine department at Massachusetts General Hospital, where many of the bombing victims were treated. Caitlin Chapman said additional funds were raised through an online account she established for donations.

The victims of the Boston tragedy also were remembered with a moment of silence and yellow-and-blue ribbons at Saturday's 10K Sole of the City Run, from Locust Point to the Inner Harbor and back.

On Sunday morning, the Falls Road Running Store is to stage a half-marathon, part of its annual Mulligan Metric Marathon, to raise funds for the Boston victims. The race takes place in Carroll Park in Southwest Baltimore.

Also Sunday regional musicians will perform at Dangerously Delicious Pies in Canton from 3-8 p.m. to raise funds for One Fund Boston, the charity set up for victims.

There are two funds set up for Maryland victims:

The Erika Brannock Fund in Baltimore, started by a friend of Erika Brannock. http://www.TheBrannockFund.com

Be Strong Stay Strong in Charlotte, established by friends of Nicole and Michael Gross to support Erika Brannock and the Grosses. http://www.bestrongstaystrong.net

Source: By Dan Rodricks, The Baltimore Sun

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