The Greatness of the Human Spirit

The energy from the crowds and fellow runners was exhilarating for Erica Denhoff as she ran in her second Boston Marathon last week. The weather was just right, not blazing hot like the year prior, and she was feeling good as she approached Heartbreak Hill.

But as Denhoff came down the hill, things looked very different than it did last year when she hit mile 24 of the marathon. Police were telling runners to stop and that the race stopped. Word spread that there had been an explosion near the finish line two miles up the road.

A few minutes later, the story changed and a new word was crossing everyone's lips: bombings.

With nothing on her but her running clothes and her bib number, Denhoff searched for a way to contact her family who were supposed to be waiting for her on the other side of Heartbreak Hill. Luckily, a good Samaritan allowed her to use her phone and Denhoff was able to reunite with her family at her Boston home nearby.

"It was very scary," said Denhoff, a 2004 graduate of North Kingstown High School and former member of the NKHS track team. "Fortunately my family was okay. We just feel so awful for everyone who wasn't."

Denhoff was running with the Dana Farber for the second time last week in the marathon. Among her teammates was one in particular who had a small group of supporters there to cheer her on. Two of those supporters, . Coincidentally, both Corcoran women have ties to North Kingstown as well: Celeste's husband and Sydney's father Kevin is also a graduate of NKHS.

As the day went on Denhoff learned of the horrors that occurred near the finish line she never reached. Despite the tales of lost limbs and carnage on Boylston Street, Denhoff said she saw the greatness of the human spirit prevail.

"Everyday people turned out to be heroes – superheroes, really," said Denhoff.

For the past two years, Denhoff has ran with the Dana Farber team during the marathon in homage to her grandfather (Meeting Street co-founder and well-known pediatric neurologist, Dr. Eric Denhoff) and uncle who both lost their battles with cancer. In the past two years, Denhoff has raised more than $12,000 for cancer research with her marathon participation.

"I owe this to them," said Denhoff. "I can't let this stop me from raising money and awareness for cancer research, because then these terrorists really win if they can stop the good we do."