Boston Marathon: Simsbury Runner Shares Horrific Experience

When two crude bombs exploded Monday at the Boston Marathon and left three people dead and injured over 170 severely injured, six Simsbury runners were there to share in the confusion, horror, and sorrow.

The following is a first-person account about Monday's bombing written by Simsbury resident Laura Riley:

I was still running when the explosions occurred, but did not know about them at the time. 

When I was approaching the 25 1/2 mile mark, the course was filled with people and we had to stop running.  There were rumors amongst the group around me that explosions occurred at the finish line by the bleachers, where I knew my husband and son were sitting. 

Information was sparse, as most people's cell phones were jammed up.  Most of the 1000's of runners surrounding me on the street did not have cellphones and were trying to use others, but most calls did not go through.  We were hearing varying reports:  that there were mass casualties, then someone else would say they heard there were no injuries, then someone else would say they heard people were losing limbs and there would be many amputations. 

We were all stuck on the street together, hearing siren after siren, watching firetrucks and police go by, seeing helicopters overheard, so we knew it was bad but did not know how bad. 

It was a frightening couple of hours.

I kept borrowing phones to call my husband but no calls would go through. 

Finally, after about an hour I was able to get through to my daughter in Wash DC,  and she told me she had just heard from my husband that he was okay. I told her I was okay and we lost the call, but at least I was relieved that communication finally occurred. 

Now I (along with so many others) were stranded on  Commonwealth Ave. freezing (it wasn't cold but you get cold after running that far) and thirsty, etc., but not concerned for our safety.  It was about two hours before they finally announced they were bringing city buses to load us on to to take us to Boston Common, which they hoped would be a staging area for runners to reunite with family members. 

I know the city of Boston well, knew right where I was (corner of Mass Ave. and Commonwealth Ave.) but wasn't sure if I should find a way around and walk to my hotel, having no idea what the finish line area was like, or if they had evacuated all the hotels, or what was happening.

The folks who lived along Commonwealth Ave. were wonderful, bringing out pitchers of water, bags of pretzels, graham crackers, large garbage bags (for us to keep warm), etc, to all of us runners. 

One woman was allowing anyone to come in and use her bathroom.My husband and son were right by the finish line when the bombs went off.  After the second explosion, everyone was running and screaming and they saw some people on the ground, lots of blood, etc. 

Again, the worst part for them was the lack of information amidst the chaos, and wondering if I was ok or if hundreds of runners were injured out on the course.  I was reunited with them about 3 hours later, around 6 o'clock, when I finally walked back to my hotel after finding out it was not evacuated.

Everyone really was wonderful and helpful, and most of the runners were very calm, asking the police questions but no one was getting too hysterical.I'm guessing the other Simsbury runners were probably already finished by the time the explosions occurred. 

One thing they keep reporting incorrectly on the news is that all of the "real" marathoners had already finished, and it was the charity runners left out there and so the crowds at the finish had thinned out.  That is incorrect - there were still over 9,000 runners out there, 4 hours is the most common time most marathoners finish, and there were "real" (me!) marathoners still out there, if they were injured or for whatever reason, and there were still tons of fans watching their friends and loved ones finish.  I'd say at a marathon, more spectators are there to watch their family members finish than they are the elite runners.

Were you at the Boston Marathon on Monday? Share your story with the community in the comments below, or email jeff.brush@patch.com.