last april 15th, bill iffrig was 78 years old and running the boston marathon for the third time. as he neared the finish line, the first of the two bombs detonated, and knocked him off his feet. shortly after this photograph, bill stood up and finished the race.
his time was 4 hours, 3 minutes.
(photo and quotes: runners world)
before he retired, he was a carpenter and mason for 42 years. after work, he built his
house.
I had good rain gear, and even on the worst nights I never got too bothered by the cold, because I enjoyed what I was doing. It took me one year, working every night and weekend. We've lived here ever since.
A few days after returning home from boston, iffrig caught up on his yard work.
A lot of my neighbors hire a yard service, and that's fine, but I like to cut the grass myself. I've always had a lot of energy. I'm not much of one for sitting around. I get home after a 10-mile run, and I look forward to mowing the lawn.
after the deafening bombing, iffrig rose and went 15 more feet, 4th in his age group.
After i finished they brought out a wheelchair. I said, "Why don't you give that to someone who needs it more?" (LA times, april 25, 2013)
inspirational beauty.
Wonderful! What a story. The marathon story is one thing, but his life story is a whole other!
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