Area runners and others who just wanted to show their support for victims of last year’s bombings at the Boston Marathon gathered at the Fleet Feet Sports store in Rochester Tuesday for a blood drive organized with the help of the Red Cross.
The event was held to mark the one-year anniversary of the bombings, and Ellen Brenner-Boutillier, the co-founder of the running equipment store, says a lot of local runners do have a connection to Boston.
"Whether they may have known somebody who got injured up there maybe they have a family member who lives there, or people who they know who ran up there, so there is definitely several degrees of separation."
Red Cross spokesperson Maureen Wellman was in Boston just after the bombings last year helping out with Red Cross activities, and she says she really understands why people use that phrase "Boston Strong "
"I was really touched by how the communities came together and stood together in the wake of it and I think that these events, while tragic, you can really see the best of humanity as well. "
As part of the Tuesday event, blood donors at the Culver Road Armory were invited to write or paint a message of hope on a large canvas. That canvas will be joined with others from around the country for a traveling exhibit.
