Hamiltonians run to pay tribute to victims of Boston bombings

Eight runners bounce up and down in the parking lot at Hamilton's Bayfront Park, getting their legs loose for a Saturday morning jaunt.

Before bolting up the hill, one member asks for a moment of silence.

Though it's not part of their normal routine, everyone obliges, flurries blowing onto their pink faces as they lower the gaze.

After all, on this chilly April morning, they're running to remember.

The group has gathered for a 20-minutejog to commemorate the victims of Monday's bombing at the Boston Marathon.

They say the blasts, which killed three people and injured more than 170 others, sent emotional shockwaves throughout the running community, including the one in Hamilton.

"People train for years and years for the Boston Marathon, and to have that taken away from them really upsets all of us," says Ted Michaels, a radio anchor for CHML and an the organizer of the meetup.

Wearing a runner's bib emblazoned with Monday's date on his jacket, he says idea for the tribute camefroma group in Chicagothat did the same thing.

"This is just our way, as runners and people who try to send the message of good healthof, not finishing the job, but showing solidarity."

Related: Hamilton race organizers discuss security after Boston bombings

Stephanie McAulay ran on Saturday, has friends who ran in Boston, but were not injured.

"It was really sombre," she said of Monday's startling news. "It took a while to just digest. I tried to get ahold of my friends who were running in Boston. And then it was just me and some of my other running friends, we were just thinking of how we can help and what we can do."

Sending a message

Confusion reigned in Boston this week, while law enforcement conducted a four-day blitz to identify and catch the bombers.

The manhunt culminated on Friday night,when police arrested Dzhokhar Tsarnaev in a backyard in Watertown, Mass., a Boston suburb. The 19-year-old and his elder brother, Tamerlan, who died the night before after a shootout with police, are suspected to have planted the bombs.

McAulay says she hopes Saturday's run, andsimilar observances in other cities,will send a message, one of peace andresiliency.

"I think creating more awareness to show that this isn't going to impact our spirit in the running community is really important."

It's a point that Micheals echoes.

"I don't know what message [the perpetrators] were trying to send, but the message we're sending back is, 'Were taking back our streets, and you're not going to win.' "