Local Boston Marathon Runners Anxiously Awaiting Word Of Arrest
By Syma Chowdhry
MT. LAUREL, N.J., (CBS) - Many people are anxiously awaiting the arrest of the person or persons involved in the Boston Marathon attacks, especially those who participated in it.
The rabbi of Temple Adath Emanu-El in Mount Laurel ran in the Boston Marathon for the very first time, after running 13 other marathons in other cities.
"It was such a positive, until of course the very end," said Rabbi Benjamin David.
He has been a runner since middle school and the Boston marathon has always been a goal of his.
"Such a thrill. The city was incredibly alive, incredible crowd support, incredible enthusiasm, perfect weather," said David.
The 36-year-old was running to raise money for cancer research and says a marathon is a perfect place to do that.
"It's such a life affirming event. There is sort of this adage that if you begin to lose faith in humanity, go out and watch a marathon. It is such a celebration of life," he said.
He finished at his best time of three hours and 21 minutes, but his joyful celebration was soon filled with fear.
"Just two blocks away, I heard these two consecutive blasts," he said. "We knew immediately that something significant had happened, that something was horribly wrong."
Rabbi David says he struggles watching the footage, but shifts his focus on good, rather than evil.
"For the most part people are inherently good," he said. "I think people want to do good and want to be there for other people."
As for the punishment for the suspect or suspects involved, Rabbi David says, "We are not seeking the death of sinners but the end of sin. And where this idea that we are not looking to do away with people, we're looking to do away with evil behavior."
He plans to continue running in these large events. Rabbi David will participate in the Broad Street run on May 5th and the Philadelphia Marathon this Fall.
