Many in the media have wondered why many of those competing in the Boston Marathon continued on to cross the finish line after the bomb blast and explosion. What are these runners thinking? What’s behind their weird, misplaced behavior (eg. Finishing the race).

We thought it would be a good opportunity to talk about some possible motives for such seemingly strange behavior. Below is our perspective from some psychosocial perspectives.

1. Investment

If someone has spent hours and hours training through the cold, dark months of Winter, many will feel compelled to finish what they started. But then you add in the expense (Boston is not cheap) as well as the qualifer. The qualifer is the requirement that competitors must prove their ability to reasonably compete in the marathon by completing a previous marathon with a specific time (…which is dependent on your age group).

Basically, if someone has spent time, money and energy, they may make a quick, split-second calculation about the risk-vs-reward immediately in front of them.

2. Safety in the Path

Some of us may feel much safer if we continue down the figurative (or literal) path on which we find ourselves. Continuity and predictability = safety (at least we believe they equate with safety). This is not unlike what many do within their families – follow the prescribed course and don’t deviate. There are likely many runners that experienced some disorientation and made sense out of the chaos by running forward, crossing the finish line and putting their lives into the hands of others (…runners typically have lots of support at the finish line to big races like the Boston Marathon).

3.  Meeting Up

This is pretty simplistic but someone will call us out on this if we don’t list it. Runners typically use the finish line as a meet-up point for family and friends that have come to support them. The finish line may have been the most logical place to find people. Thankfully the blast was far enough away from the actual finish line that many were likely able to find loved ones.

Everyone at Fonthill wishes the best for all those effected by the tragic event at the Boston Marathon.