Stephanie Kranz was approximately 312 miles away from Boston when the bombs went off at the finish line of the city’s annual marathon. She doesn’t know any victims. She doesn’t know what it is like to witness terrorism first-hand. But what this 2012-13 Remembrance Scholar does know is the importance of looking ahead — and the passion of a runner.

During the evening of April 15, hours after the attack and as Bostonians continued to clean their beloved streets from an unfathomable act of terror, Kranz went for a training run here in Syracuse.

Kranz is determined to complete a marathon herself in Buffalo, N.Y., this May. As she ran down the streets surrounding Syracuse University with her dog by her side, she could not stop thinking about how fortunate she was to be simply running, and doing so without fear for her safety.

It was then Kranz knew she and her fellow Remembrance Scholars had to act.

Following her run, Kranz posted her idea for action on the scholars’ Facebook page: a 5K race in Syracuse to benefit the victims of the Boston Marathon attack. By the next evening, the scholars and several other SU students had a plan.

There is a deep significance in the Remembrance Scholars creating a footrace to combat yet another aspect of life that was forced from enjoyable normalcy.

The 35 scholars represent the 35 SU students who lost their lives in the bombing of Pan Am Flight103, Kranz said, and advocate for anti-violence and anti-terrorism, especially during Remembrance Week in the fall. “But our message doesn’t need to end at the end of Remembrance Week,” she said.

In the fall, group members developed the theme, “Look back. Act forward,” Kranz said. Remembering victims of attacks is about being active in their honor today, not just mourning their loss, she said, and confirmed the group is continuing that logic for those in Boston.

Since the idea for the race was conceived, the momentum has yet to waver. Kranz and fellow Remembrance Scholar Sarah Walton have been leading the development of the “Keeping the P(e)ace” 5K to take place April 28 at noon. Students and members of the Syracuse community are welcome to participate. The route will be designed throughout SU’s campus and will conclude at the Schine Student Center with live music and free food.

All funds participants raise will go toward New England-area organization Technology Underwriting Greater Good’s existing fundraiser. The money will be divided between different relief efforts in the Boston area, including The One Fund — created by top Massachusetts officials — Boston Children’s Hospital and the Boston Red Cross.

Kranz’s excitement could not be contained as she described how every aspect of the race has been donated: from the T-shirts paid for by the chancellor’s office to the water stations provided by SU Department of Recreation Services.

In less than a week, a group of SU students with the support of the university has created an event that will do more than collect needed resources for a city struck with terror and loss. It will create hope, a hope that, in the face of human evil, individuals can counter extreme malevolence by exemplifying an overwhelming sense of pure compassion. And a hope that a race can again be run with joy.

Though the Remembrance Scholars are spearheading the event, several other passionate SU students with close ties to Boston are also heavily involved, which has only made the event more special, Kranz said.

For Kranz, seeing her idea become a reality due to the support of her peers and university has been overwhelming. “I have probably had a smile on my face since Monday nonstop,” Kranz said.

Even though we are miles away from the most recent city to be struck with loss, as SU students, we now have the ability to lace up our sneakers, pin a number to our shirts and stride across a finish line for a cause.

Said Kranz: “It just goes to show the power that’s at Syracuse.”

Rachael Barillari is the editorial editor and a junior political science and Middle Eastern studies major. Her column appears weekly. She can be reached at rebarill@syr.edu and followed on Twitter at @R_Barillari.

Published on April 22, 2013 at 1:24 am