La Grange Teens Sell Shoelaces to Benefit Boston Marathon Victims

Hannah Bartman and Alexus Serrano, like most of us, were devastated last week when they heard about the Boston Marathon bombings.

As runners, the two La Grange teens took the bombings personally—and they knew immediately they wanted to help.

What better way, they thought, than by selling shoelaces to benefit the Red Cross and the Boston Athletic Association (BAA).

“The shoelaces are something symbolic of the sport and all the marathon represents,” Bartman said in an email from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where she is a freshman. “And whenever you lace up your running/athletic shoes with the ‘Pray for Boston’ shoelaces, you are doing so in memory and honor of those who no longer can run.”

Both Bartman and Serrano ran track and cross-country at Lyons Township High School. Bartman ran the Chicago Marathon last year and hopes to run it again this year and qualify for the Boston Marathon. Serrano, a senior in high school, has her sights set on a future Ironman race.

The running community, Serrano said, is like a second family. The girls spent an hour on the phone with each other the night of the bombings trying to comprehend why someone would target it.

“(T)he marathon is an event that celebrates life and the human body and all that you can push yourself to do,” Bartman said. “To have somebody attack those simply celebrating life angered us. Nobody deserved what happened that day; nobody should have to be affected.”

Serrano said she hopes the people of Boston know how much the whole running community cares about them.

“We wanted to send a message that things like this should not happen anymore,” she said. “It’s just not right.”

The girls will be selling the blue and gold shoelaces—the colors of the BAA—for $3 a pair through several LT track and soccer teams, as well as at this weekend’s U of I marathon. They are also taking orders via email at alexusfserrano@aol.com. 

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