"The Garden of Peace. A place for families and friends to gather, to pray, reflect, heal, and feel some sense of peace and hope about life's' continuation. I want to run for the Garden of Peace in memory of my cousin, Chris Maki of Lunenburg, MA. Chris was a victim of homicide 5 years ago.
Running is doing something positive for my body, soul and mind. Running the Boston Marathon will give me and his family a new memory to add to Chris's life. I am running for him, his joy for life, his love of family. I am so grateful for this opportunity. I plan to run full of life, happy and strong. Just the way I feel when I think of Chris as the training miles slip on by and he pushes me up those hills. "
- Gail Karabatsos
One runner, Beth Agostino of Needham, writes:
"As I get older and more mature, I realize how fortunate I have been. I am now 33 years old, have a wonderful husband, a beautiful baby girl and a great life. I want us all to enjoy long and happy lives and to help others do the same. That desire, plus a sense of responsibility to 'give back', made me jump at the chance to run the Boston marathon for The Garden of Peace Memorial.
"While I have not directly been affected by the horrors of homicide, I am close to two people who have been. My husband's high school friend, Anne Borghesani, and a dear friend's only brother, Paul Michael Casey, were both slain by strangers in random acts of terrible violence. The senselessness of their deaths is compounded by the unsettling knowledge that they were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. The statistics show that we are all at risk of a similar fate, yet most Americans feel safe and therefore disinterested in the problem. Most do not know the staggering number of people murdered each year and they tell themselves that homicide is usually a matter of people killing others that they know. Awareness of the pervasiveness and randomness of homicide in America is needed to drive the creation of prevention programs and to help inspire participation in neighborhood watches and community building."
Statement for Brian Posner of Somerville:
I ran the Boston Marathon in 2002 in three hours and forty-seven minutes and am excited to train once again for this difficult physical challenge while raising money for a wonderful charity, The Garden of Peace: A Memorial to Victims of Homicide. In the United States there are over 20,000 homicides each year or an average of 55 murders per day! As I have become involved with the Garden and have met with the parents of several murder victims, I have been profoundly moved by the lasting devastation of such horrific tragedies. As an expecting father, I can't even imagine what it would be like to lose a child in this way.
In addition to raising awareness, The Garden of Peace is a living memorial to commemorate all victims of homicide. This includes the victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks, child victims of gun violence, and innocent bystanders killed without reason.
Jennifer Noble of Woburn
I ran my first Marathon in October of '99 (Chicago), and I have been addicted ever since. This April will be my 7th Marathon and my 2nd Boston Marathon overall. Over the years, I have met some wonderful people through the sport of running.
The Garden of Peace was brought to my attention by my running coach at the Niketown Running Club in Boston, my hang-out every Wednesday night. I grew up in Massachusetts and graduated from Northeastern University in Boston, MA. Thankfully, I have never personally been affected by a victim of homicide, however very few days go by when I don't hear about another victim who died a senseless, preventable death in Massachusetts. I am fortunate enough to have been let into this very special group composed not only of runners, but of family members grieving over the loss of a loved one. Each individual who has taken part in bringing The Garden to life has let me into their lives, sharing stories of their loved ones who have been a victim of homicide in Massachusetts.
I am running for The Garden of Peace not only to raise awareness and prevent future victims of homicide in Massachusetts, but I am also running to represent the strength and courage each individual is faced with after losing someone close to them.
', 'Gabrielle Rocap
Garden of Peace Running Team for Boston Marathon
I am running for the Garden of Peace in memory of my husband's sister, Anne Borghesani, who was murdered on a bike path in Arlington, Virginia in March of 1990. "In memory" is an odd phrase because I never met my sister-in-law. I know of her, her devotion to her friendships and her love of travel, only from the stories her friends and family have told me. Her senseless and untimely death deprived me of the chance to know this warm and caring woman, to have her as a friend, to see firsthand her grumpy morning moods, to be an aunt to the children she might have had, and to hear the stories about Paul's childhood that only a sister could tell.
Although I did not know Anne, as part of the Borghesani family for the last 11 years, I have seen the horrible hole her death has caused. By running the marathon and fundraising for the Garden of Peace I hope to help raise awareness about the pervasiveness of violence in American society. The Garden of Peace itself will be both a lasting tribute to the victims and a reminder that homicide impacts us all.
Paul Borghesani
Garden of Peace Running Team for Boston Marathon
I have always wanted to run the Boston marathon. Although I ran track as student at Lexington High School, it was the long runs on warm summer evenings that I loved best. For three years in college I lived in Kenmore Square and watched with admiration every Patriots Day as the racers completed their last mile. For the next nine years I lived in Cambridge, and each spring I would think, "next year for sure", but between my studies and the cold New England winters I was unable to find the motivation to complete the long hours of training.
On March 31, 1990, my sister Anne was violently killed by a stranger as she walked to her own belated birthday celebration. The grief and confusion my family and friends were thrown into is indescribable. Our pain has changed, perhaps matured, but is no less salient than it was 13 years ago. Anne's death continues to cause me to cry, feel isolated, and get angry; the hole that was created by her needless death has not been filled. I also constantly think about how we may help prevent this from happening to others. This past November when I was presented the opportunity to run the Boston marathon while raising money for the Garden of Peace, which commemorates and celebrates those who have died from civilian violence, I immediately agreed.
The Garden of Peace will stand as a reminder to our law makers and trial lawyers that there is more at stake then just guilt or innocence; but that prior to the trial a life has been tragically lost or damaged. Often, we focus more on the perpetrators of these horrors and their punishment, than on the consequence of their crimes or ways protect the innocent. It is of course essential to bring them to justice; however, there seems only conflicting evidence that punishment and deterrence will ever reduce the incidence of tragedy. In the last few decades we have learned the importance of memorials to ordinary civilians that remind us personally of how they were lost due to sickness, genocide or terror and what toll it has reaped on family, friends and society. The void left by those killed can never be filled. Thus, by raising funds for the Garden of Peace I will have that extra incentive I formally lacked to train for and run the Boston marathon. I don't know the answer to preventing violence, but I am sure that forgetting about the victims is not the way.