Let me just start by saying that I'm ok. I crossed the finish line about an hour ahead of the chaos, but was still in the area (a few blocks away) when the bombs went off.
I have been struggling on and off this spring with an injured hamstring - and was very cautious about my race yesterday. I hadn't gotten in more than a 2 hour run in a long time leading up to Boston...so I was running conservatively just to enjoy the day and test the leg. I was really excited to finish strong and steady, and with no hamstring pain. I slapped the hand of hundreds of little kids along the way, saw my parents, teammates, friends, training buddies, and high school friends along the way. I had a smile on my face the whole way and had one of my most fun marathon experiences ever.
But, my excitement with my run quickly turned to shock and horror with sensing the panic that quickly set in as I made my way from the finish area, hearing the sirens of emergency personnel swarming the finish line, and knowing that something horrible was going on. Things got worse as we heard the exact reports of what happened - and I spent most of the rest of the day checking with friends and family to be sure that everyone was ok.
On a day that's supposed to be celebrating accomplishments and sharing an amazing experience with folks from around the globe, it quickly was a different type of unifying event. My talks with friends went from 'how did your race go', to 'are you ok'.
Luckily, I am ok, and all the friends/family I know were out there are ok. But, my heart goes out to those who were injured. As someone who spend my high school years standing in the exact spot of the first bomb, cheering on the amazing athletes, it hits close to home.
Hope everyone you know is ok!
