A Reflection & Expression of thanks for the 2016 Boston Marathon
My heart is full of gratitude to Atsede Baysa, who so quint-essentially embodies the human spirit of love and generosity.
I would also like to express my gratitude to the Massachusetts State Senate and House of Representatives, the Governor and Mayor, the Greek consulate, and the town of Hopkinton.
I am grateful for all those who made the marathon possible, such as the Boston Athletic Association, the Hancock Corporation and all the other sponsors, the athletes, police, National Guard, medical personnel, volunteers, spectators, all the towns along the course, those who set up and clean up, and everyone else who participated in this amazing event.
And to my own Bobbi Gibb 50th Anniversary Celebration Team; the committee of Boston Marathon Champions who launched the Marathon Sculpture Project; the media--who so generously helped me tell this story, and to my fellow “pioneering women”--a very special thanks.
These are just a few of the thousands of people who came together to celebrate life together and make the incredible 120th Boston Marathon a successful world-class event.
This year’s Boston Marathon was both inspirational and transformational. We saw again that the spirit of the marathon knows no divisions among people. The love that connects our hearts knows no boundaries and expresses the freedom that is so essential to the human soul. This year’s marathon can only be described as a huge love fest with hugs, tears and laughter.
People from over ninety nations, all ethnic, religious, political persuasions, and races came together in friendship, connecting with one another in heartfelt affection. All the artificial barriers we erect against one another simply did not exist. This year’s marathon was about love— the love that is fundamental to the human spirit that overcomes all obstacles, and is the foundation of all meaningful human endeavor.
The source of this love in the human heart out of which all this wondrous existence is continuously manifesting— this is the ultimate mystery and miracle. We cannot explain it; it contains us, we do not contain it. We celebrate this universal life with our being and that is what this year’s marathon was all about— re-connecting and re-experiencing that love, which connects all being and which is the fountain of all life.
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With little left to prove on the roads after 1968, Gibb turned her attention to academics and art. She has had a lifelong and continuing interest in neuroscience, especially Lou Gehrig’s disease (ALS), which claimed a close friend a decade ago. She also sculpts and paints. In 1984, her sculpture was awarded to the first three finishers in the first U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials for women, famously won by Joan Benoit.
Some of her paintings—colorful swirling abstracts—will be made public for the first time this spring.
National Women's History Museum Acknowledges Bobbi
The National Women's History Museum graciously acknowledged Bobbi for her contribution to women's sports in their Facebook post of December 13, 2015. Based on the number of "likes" and "shares," Bobbi's courage is as relevant today as it was 50 years ago. If you are on Facebook, search their page for Bobbi Gibb and you can join the over 99,000 people that have "liked" this post!