On a cloudy, late summer morning, there's a ray of hope in Newton.
Shu Li helped organize this year's Lingzi Dream Dash 5K, the event honoring Lingzi Lu, a graduate student at Boston University who lost her life in the attack at the 2013 Boston Marathon.
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That day inspired Li to start running marathons.
"I just want to try a marathon once in my life, that was my original thought," said Li, who will be running her eighth marathon in October.
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Li has been training all summer for the Boston Marathon, which will be held on Oct. 11. She will be running with Team Lingzi.
"Keep her memory alive, to honor all of the people's sacrifice on that day," said Helen Zhao, Lingzi's aunt.
Zhao said that the pandemic has made things more challenging because Lingzi's parents haven't been able to visit the United States.
"Especially the last two years they can’t even come here," Zhao said. "It’s heartache for them because they really want to come here every year."
That's why she says the marathon and the 5K team is so important.
"Memories do fade and people’s lives move on, but I do believe to have the the 5K every year and to have the community together to honor her life is very important," Zhao said.
