( CNN ) -- I was working at my desk in D.C. , following race reports from Boston on Twitter , wondering as I do every year if I 'll ever be fast enough to qualify . The elite runners had long ago crossed the finish line and the back of the pack was ambling along when the door burst open and several colleagues rushed in . `` There 's been a bomb at the marathon ! '' My heart sank . I knew they were telling me as a journalist , but I heard it as a runner . New details , new questions in Boston . For well over a century , Boston has been hallowed ground for those of us who run . Boston is where the endless miles of training -- in rain , heat and snow -- lead . Boston is where the agony of the hills and the brutality of the stopwatch are pounded into submission by 26.2 miles of glory . It does not matter if you finish first or last . Simply being in that legendary race is the goal . Forever dreaming of it is the reality for most of us . And then , in 12 horrific seconds , a sporting event that has inspired , challenged and rewarded Americans for more than a century was turned into something awful , ugly and painful . 5 viral stories that are n't true . Make no mistake : Any decent runner in the land will tell you that nothing about the race even slightly matters compared to the suffering and grief of those people caught in the blasts . Some runners who had just covered nearly the whole course were among the first to rush over and offer aid . No matter how many years of effort they 'd spent to reach the race , they knew there were real victims here , and the finish line did n't matter anymore . I have covered many explosions , massacres , wars , natural disasters and horrific accidents . I know that human loss should always trump all else . But I 've also learned that sometimes other things are lost , as well , and even if they do n't matter as much as the human suffering , they matter just the same . Take the pledge to run for Boston . And for so many of us who take to the roads , paths and trails , the essence of running is freedom ; our freedom to step outside , stretch our legs and fly along the ground wherever we choose for as long as we please . It is a celebration of human ability and excellence . It is a struggle . It is a triumph . And this was an attack on all of that . The point of terrorism is to terrify , to drive us all away from the open roads , to force us into hiding , to make us shrink from each other and from public spaces , to make us run ... away . The human spirit is still alive . I worked all day covering the blasts . I collected information on the victims , the investigation and the hunt for suspects . I checked in on friends who 'd been at the race . The phone rang late as I was finally wrapping up . It was my older daughter at Georgia Tech . We marathoned together a few years back , and we still join each other for races whenever we can . `` How are you , '' I asked . `` Not great , '' she said . `` It 's all so sad . I went for a run . You understand . '' I do . And I know she was not alone . I know as sure as I breathe that in all the depressing , bewildering hours since the attacks , that this has been the answer from runners all across our land . They have strapped on their shoes , stepped outside and in silent tribute they have run . They have run in defiance of those who would presume upon our freedom . They have run in respect for those who died or who were hurt cheering on this silly sport we love . They have run as we 've always run , to test the limits of human possibility ; not to defeat others , but to improve ourselves . They have run as I will run ... for Boston .
For many runners , the bombings in Boston have left a unique wound . The attacks were not just about terrorism but also about American values and how they are perceived by people around the world.