NOVANEWS
The Newtown Strong Fund had dedicated each of the race’s 26.2 miles to one of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting’s 26 victims
The tragedy at the Boston Marathon hit home in Connecticut — not just because the state sent more than 400 runners to the big race, but also because the marathon honored victims of last year’s shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
The race is 26.2 miles long, and the Newtown Strong Fund dedicated each mile to one of the 26 victims of the shooting.
There was a 26-second long moment of silence at the beginning of the race, and a special marker was placed at the 26-mile mark.
The marker includes the Newtown, Conn. city seal surrounded by 26 stars, one for each victim.
Laura Nowacki, a spokeswoman for the Newtown Strong Fund and the mother of a shooting survivor, is okay.
Lisa Abrams, whose husband Thomas is one of nine runners with Team Newtown Strong, spoke with the Connecticut Post and said her husband sent her a text about the explosion.
“Newtown cannot handle any more of this,” Lisa Abrams told the Post. “We don’t need any more stress, no more heartache.”
Karen Alexander of Sandy Hook was supposed to run but stayed home. She said all the runners from the group are safe.
