TROY, Mich. – Hundreds of runners who met at Kensington Church in Troy Saturday morning to train for the Detroit Free Press Marathon dedicated their efforts to the victims of the Boston Marathon bombings.
"My heart goes out to all the people in Boston and all the fears that they have passed through in the last few days. Just know that we keep you in our prayers," said Utica resident Anna Styrzynska.
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Before hitting the pavement, the runners gathered for a prayer and a moment of silence.
Pastor Steve Norman said in the days following the tragedy in Boston, about 35 more people joined their marathon team.
He said Christians shouldn't live in fear.
"We believe our scriptures teach that God doesn't want us to be afraid, doesn't want us to be afraid of any circumstances in our lives. For us, it was important for us to get out and run again. We are not afraid. We are not going to live our lives in fear," Norman said.
The church's runners are trying to raise a million dollars to help provide clean drinking water in Kenya. And they're not going to allow what happened in Boston to stop them from making a difference.
"My whole family has been asking me that. Are you still going to run? And yeah I am going to run. It is something I have always wanted to do, run a marathon. And I'm doing it for a good cause and I am not going to let an incident like that stop me or scare me away," said Chesterfield resident Chad Vester.