Local runners met at Mission Bay Monday night to take part in a memorial race for the victims of the Boston Marathon bombings.
The “Boston Strong San Diego” run started with a moment of silence at De Anza Cove. Many participants wore yellow and blue, the official colors of the Boston Marathon.
Monday marked one week since the bombings, and similar memorial runs took place across the country.
The local race started as a grassroots effort. VAVi's San Diego Running Club member Jennifer Simpson says she got the idea from the Web site pavementrunner.com. Simpson then created a Facebook page for the event.
“When I first started, I invited 10 people and my running club. Then they invited people, and they invited people,” Simpson said.
Hundreds of people signed up on Facebook, but race organizers didn’t know how many would actually come.
Fellow race organizer Melissa Kirkham says she understands why the event appealed to so many local runners.
“To watch things happen from a distance and not being able to do something more than donate or buy a shirt to remember the victims…we wanted to really come together,” Kirkham said.
“Runners are a unique breed. It’s a unique sport. Whether you are a 13-minute mile or a six-minute mile, we are one community, one family,” she said.
