CLOVIS, Calif. (KMJ/KFSN) — Running together for all 26.2 miles, Greg Haroutunian and his daughter Ani crossed the finish line of a race they’ve waited years to run.
“As a kid, I was like I’m going to run the Boston Marathon. To actually get to do it and for it to be my first one – it’s just unbelievable,” Ani said.
Their last trip to Boylston Street was in 2013.
A stark contrast from the nightmare the family endured during their last trip to Boylston Street.
On April 15, 2013, the Haroutunians were watching the race across the street from the second blast in the Boston Bombing that killed three people and injured more than 200.
“I mean it was awful, after that day I was afraid of everything, constantly worried, constantly panicking, I’d have breakdowns and cry. It was hard to see if I’d ever get past that,” Ani said.
“What was staggering was the number of people who ran toward where the bomb ignited,” Greg said.
Greg’s oldest son, Mark, was eleven years old.
“That’s where he had a deep sense of conviction that he wanted to make sure that nothing like this would ever happen again in our country,” he said.
Mark would join the army, and after graduating from West Point, is now serving as a lieutenant overseas.
After Ani’s graduation from Fresno State, she and her dad decided this was the year to run the Boston Marathon, picking “Homes for our Troops” as their charity.
Their group raised more than $130,000 for the non-profit that builds and donates custom homes to veterans who have been severely injured.
When it came time for the trip, Ani got to Boston two days early so that she could visit the memorial and write their why on the wall of runners:
“I said turning trauma into triumph: Running the Boston Marathon as a Boston Bombing Survivor. And I put Genesis 50 verse 20 on there,” Ani said.
Greg, the senior pastor at a Fresno church, leaned on his faith to help with the healing.
“It was redemption because we were impacted by the evil of 12 years ago, not anywhere close to the people who were injured, but we, we were impacted. And we were back,” Greg said.
An estimated 500,000 people cheered along the route of the Boston Marathon. A number that includes the Haroutunian family, who were standing in the exact spot they were in 12 years prior.
“Right as we were getting up there, I was like ‘alright dad, this is the spot, this is it!’,” Ani said. “To get to see our family there cheering for us, I started crying. I didn’t know you can cry and run at the same time but it’s possible!”
For 12 years, the Haroutunian family lived with a day they wanted to forget.
With this return to Boylston Street, the family can finally celebrate Boston in a new way.
“What more could you ask for? You’re crossing the finish line and there’s a new story, there’s a new memory there. The memory there is no longer the trauma. The new memory is of them cheering and us crossing,” Ani said.
“Together, daddy and daughter, we were running down Boylston and… Yeah I don’t think it gets much better,” Greg said.
