Saturday, April 29th 2023, 10:19 pm
In the shadow of the Oklahoma City National Memorial, runners and volunteers gather together for a night of prayer and worship ahead of the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon.
"It's special," Chris Dodson, pastor of First Church OKC said. "The Blessing of the Shoes existed long before I ever got here."
However, Dodson said it is something he is now proud to be a part of.
"You just get to see the good of who we are in Oklahoma and how we've taken something terrible and turned it into something good," Dodson said.
To those participating in the races, getting their shoes blessed is a staple for the marathon weekend.
"It's more symbolic,” Brian Glover, who is running in the relay on Sunday said. “They make a big event of it and it's a lot of fun."
Glover said this weekend brings people from near and far together to remember those who were lost.
"There'll be 18,000 people out there crossing the start line,” he says. "It's one of the times people from all different walks of life can be going after the same purpose."
Dodson said this is what the Blessing of the Shoes is all about.
"We were all right here together when it happened,” Dodson said. “So, it's not just about holding onto that moment, but all of us working together... to figure out how we reclaim it into something good."
First Church OKC will be at the Survivor Tree at 5:30 a.m. on Sunday to kick off the Memorial Marathon.
Cameron Joiner joined the News 9 team as a Multimedia Journalist in January of 2023. Cameron was born and raised in Sugar Land, Texas, just outside of Houston. Though she is a Texan at heart she has fallen in love with Oklahoma. She came to the Sooner State to attend OU, where she majored in Broadcast Journalism.
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