Boston Marathon in My life both public and private!

I will always remember the Boston Marathon bombing. It was on April 15th as my dad had asked me to put out his tax stuff before I left for school on the 15th. My parents had driven to Boston on the Friday before the race. I had a guy friend staying w/ me that weekend and it was a really nice weekend. I even went for a run on the 14th to get the blood pumping and burn off a few extra calories that I had at dinner the night before. I hate to cook but actually made a meal for me and my guy friend. He was very kind and said it was good. I know he was probably not being truthful as it was not very good at all. But some chocolate cake and a glass of red wine and I really needed to get out on that Sunday and run. The cake was store bought and it was very good!

I was just getting ready to dismiss my class at the bus when someone said a bomb went off at the finish line of the Boston Marathon. I hadn’t paid much attention to the race as my dad has run 100’s of races and I never give them much thought. I went to the teachers room and they showed on TV what had happened. I was pretty scared that my dad was at the finish line when the bomb went off. He was about a 4 hour marathoner and it was a nice day to run. I tried calling but all cell phone service had been cut off. I knew they were staying at the 4 Seasons in Boston and I called the hotel about 20 times but all I got was a busy signal. I went on FB to see if any of his running friends had any news. No one did. I drove home from school in a state of shock and fear. My guy friend was there as he had just gotten off work also. He had the TV on and it looked awful.

My dad was about a mile short of the finish line when the bombs exploded. He had gotten a leg cramp at about mile 20 and it slowed him down. He told me it sounded like a car backfired, He and the runners w/ him had no idea what had happened. They were quickly re-routed away from the finish line and were told to wait on one of the street corners where they were and shuttle buses would come and pick them up. He walked to the closest bar and had a couple of beers. Knowing my dad it was probably more than a couple. He then walked back to the hotel.

My mom never goes to the finish line of my dad’s marathons. She says she never knows when he will finish and they are just too crowded and confusing. She was at the bar at the 4 Seasons waiting for him when she heard the news. She tried to call me and there was no service. I know she was pretty scared. The news reports were not all that great and no one really knew all the details. My dad showed up at the hotel about 2 hours after the explosion. He was pretty wiped out. They sat at the lounge of the bar and had a drink. My dad then went up to their room and cried. My dad is not an emotional or sentimental person but he was really devastated by this. I found out at about 10 that evening everything was okay. My Aunt Kathy called to tell me she heard form one of the runners who knew my dad and told her that he was okay.

My dad had an opportunity to run it again the next year because he didn’t finish but he passed on the opportunity. Said he had no desire to ever go to Boston or ever run there again. There are a few days I will never forget in my life. One of them is April 15th 2103.