The pain of Heartbreak Hill may have softened a bit for more than a thousand athletes who reached the rose-petal-covered stretch in last month’s Boston Marathon. Amid the sideline mix of spectators, water stations, power bars and police officers were four enthusiastic Flagstaff runners – Katy Abrams, Fon Cordasco, Kim Marr and Annie Phillips – loaded with buckets of compassion and red roses.
“I think it put smile on everybody’s face,” said Dr. Maureen Meyer, a Flagstaff optometrist and three-time Boston Marathoner, who joyously received a rose and hugs from her hometown pals at mile 21.
“Heartbreak Hill is a series of rolling hills between mile 18 and 21 that appear just at the wrong time. You’re kind of on your last bit of energy. They throw off your pace and your mental game,” she said. “The girls were right at the top, duplicating an act of kindness that Katy received in 1978.”
Katy Abrams is a Summit Center nurse who ran her first Boston Marathon at age 18. The Boston-area native says a random act of kindness she experienced at the time was what she needed to push through. That moment has been on her heart and in her head ever since. “It was rough running at mile 21 when a gentleman came out of the crowd and handed me a single rose. He picked me! And it was just so beautiful and helpful.”
As she crossed the finish line, she was still holding the stem, as if drawing strength from the gift. Its rose petals had long fallen off, dotting the trail behind her.
Abrams was excited to return to the marathon and hoped to qualify to run it this year. However, she missed the cutoff by 48 seconds in her race time. “I was really kind of devastated. I trained really hard, did exactly what they said and still missed out.”
“The news was heartbreaking to all of us, but Katy came up with the surprising idea to hand out roses,” said Annie Phillips of Arizona Raft Adventures, who had qualified but could not enter the race because of a knee injury.
It was not long before the rose campaign bloomed. Abrams received support from co-workers at the Summit Center, Babbitt Ranches, florists, runners and her loyal friends. In fact, she had enough support to hand deliver 1,450 long-stemmed red roses along with smiles, hugs and encouragement to Boston Marathoners.
As the Flagstaff women got to Boston, they were concerned about being allowed to get close to the runners because of the heightened security measures taken since the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing. They figured they would be walking for miles with buckets of roses.
“We couldn’t believe the number of police officers, and they were so helpful to us. They allowed us to drive in and drop off the roses after bomb-sniffing dogs checked us out,” said Phillips.
The group claimed their position at mile 21 and handed out single roses for hours.
“One of the things that’s powerful in a marathon is that everyone is going through their own pain,” said Abrams. “To me, that rose symbolized understanding and success; life is hard and you’ll get through it. That rose has now come to symbolize that you never know how an act of kindness can affect others, how it can be contagious.”
Indeed, it was contagious as Boston College students and spectators joined in the effort to give roses to runners.
“We saw every type of runner – from elite athletes to people with prosthetic legs who survived the bombing – all running for a different reason,” said Fon Cordasco of Babbitt Ranches. “We heard so many stories that touched us and we came across so many people who put their hand on their heart as if to say, ‘For me? You’re giving this to me?’”
“We learned so much watching the marathon. We never would have had the opportunity if we were running,” said Phillips. “One of the most amazing stories was about this couple, a man pushing his wife in a wheelchair. She has ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis also called Lou Gehrig’s disease). Her big mission is to show other people living with disease not to give up on their dreams.”
“Katy brought tears to his eyes,” added Cordasco. “We laid roses on her lap and he started crying. The back of his shirt read, ‘My wife is my hero.’”
“Who knew that roses could bring so much joy?” said Flagstaff stylist and business owner Kim Marr who ran the Boston Marathon alongside Maureen, Katy and Annie in 2007. “One of the most poignant moments was when a man running on blades reached us. We didn’t know his story, but the back of his shirt stated, ‘No Legs, No Excuses.’”
Without thinking much about wardrobe, the Flagstaff women were wearing hats and t-shirts identifying Flagstaff through symbols such as the Babbitt Ranches hashknife brand and BLE (Best Life Ever) stickers.
“BLE is all about spontaneous acts of kindness and appreciating our village that allows us to live well,” said Meyer. “Nate [Avery] is of course the impetus for the whole movement, but BLE has become a Flagstaff motto that’s also reflected in Babbitt Ranches.” (Avery, Meyer’s brother, was a prominent Flagstaff neurosurgeon remembered by the “Best Life Ever” phrase.)
“Katy did a really good job demonstrating the essence of our Flagstaff community,” said Cordasco. “I think everyone really, really felt it.”
“I wish we were curing cancer, but in our own little way, we’re spurring people on and giving them love and kindness,” said Abrams. “In 1978, somebody did that for me. This year, it’s about that man and his wife and how wonderfully supported they felt when we showered them with roses.”
By Bonnie Stevens, FBN
The Flagstaff rose campaign made the news in Boston. To view WCVB-TV’s report, go to: http://m.wcvb.com/sports/roses-handed-to-marathon-runners-at-heartbreak-hill/39092284
Photo courtesy Kim Marr