I am trying to put together my race report for Monday’s race. It seems to make more sense to do it in reverse and discuss the time
after the race before going into the actual race. The actual race seems somehow insignificant considering what has happened. I will write it, however, because as the sting of Monday fades, I know I will want a documentation of my 8th marathon.
HERE is my initial recap of the time after the marathon. What follows are the details of the hours after the race.
As you all know, I went to run the
2013 Boston Marathon. I ran a very tough race that took me through the gamut of emotions. I finally got my head in a good place, forgetting about my slow time and enjoying the spectacle that is the
Boston Marathon. As I approached the end of the race, I was determined to give it my all and claim my hard-earned medal. As I was running on Hereford Street, sometime after the 40 km marker, I heard a loud boom. I was confused. It was shortly followed by another. It was loud, very loud, but sounded several blocks away. Having never run Boston before, I didn’t know whether there was a fly-over causing a sonic boom or cannon fire for something. As I rounded the corner onto Boylston street, picking up my pace, ready to sprint to the finish, I saw smoke down the street. I could see the sign for mile 26 ahead of me. I could see the finish. I was there–I was going to be a Boston Marathon finisher! And then a Police officer stepped in front of me and other runners and told us to stop. A few runners, focused on their goals, tried to run past the police. Emotions were high. I said, realizing that they wouldn’t stop us unless it was for our safety, “hey, it is just a race…” I said it almost more to convince myself.
This is a picture I snapped shortly after being stopped on the final stretch of the Boston Marathon. You can see runners and spectators milling about waiting to hear more. You can see the finish line in the background as well as the remnants of smoke in the air.
None of us knew what was going on. Even the police officer had no idea. Spectators were on phones trying to get information for us. People were speculating about the cause of the booms, including the possibility of a blown manhole? Honestly, none of us actually thought that the race was over. We thought they were clearing the way of whatever happened and then we would continue across the finish line. The longer we stood there, the more real it all became. We knew that something very bad had happened. It became very real when we all had to get to the side of Boylston to let numerous emergency vehicles fly by us with sirens blaring. Women around me started to cry hysterically. Some time after the vehicles sped past, the police started yelling to “clear the area!” Emotions were high. One man got into an altercation with a policeman saying that he had to get to the finish to find his wife. It was tough to see. We were directed west, away from the finish line, away from my friends, away from my bag of clothes, keys and money. Away from the dream of the Boston Marathon. We ended up on Mass Avenue.
Thank goodness I ran with my phone. During this time I was trying to text my friend Terri, since she was waiting for me near the finish line. My texts were not going through. The first I knew that this was a very big deal was when I received a text from my husband (home in Colorado) saying, “I’m going to need for you to text that you are OK.” It had made national news! The first time my emotions hit me was when my cell phone kept saying “message failed would you like to try again?” I could only imagine how I would feel not knowing if he was OK. My family and friends were tracking me and I knew there was a mat at 40 km and I knew they would be looking for my update at the finish. I was so frustrated with texts and calls not going through. My battery on my phone was quickly running out. I could see a ton of notifications on Facebook, but couldn’t get the app to open in order to update a status. A guy near me said that e-mails were going through, but I was having a hard time getting my network to do anything. He offered to send an email and I sent an e-mail to Kenny with a subject line:“Lisa is OK–will call soon.” A text got through to Terri and so she also told Kenny I was OK. Thank goodness, he updated my sister who put a post on Facebook notifying all the people who care about me that I was safe. I have found out after-the-fact that many, many people were tracking me. My 40 km check in was at 2:40 p.m.. The bombs went off at 2:50 p.m. Many people in my life, people who have loved and supported me, were very scared how close I was to the finish.
At this point I was freezing. The warmth from running had gone and my sweat was drying. I was wearing shorts and a tank top. I am often cold on an 80 degree day after a run. The temperatures in Boston that afternoon were dropping quickly and the wind was picking up. I still had my arm warmers tied around my waist. I put on the slightly damp sleeves to protect myself from the wind. I met a woman named Jamie and we sort of stuck together, not knowing what to do. She was shivering. A young woman in her twenties approached her and said, “do you need a sweatshirt?” and immediately took off her hoodie and handed it to Jamie, telling her to keep it. This kind of thing was happening all around us.
A police officer told us all to “go home.” Tears welled in my eyes. Home? I had no idea where my friend Terri was. Keys to her apartment were in my drop bag at the finish. How would I even get to her house? Everyone was telling us that the trains had been shut down. Could I walk the four miles to her house? Would she know to go there? I had no money, no ID and my phone was quickly running out of batteries. I borrowed a pen to write down Terri’s number in case I lost my phone charge for good. Jamie was going through even more desperate emotions. Her husband was waiting for her at the finish line. She didn’t know if he was safe. He had both her and his cell phone, but she had no luck getting a call through using a borrowed phone.
After many attempts at texts from my phone and others around, Terri was able to contact me. One of her texts came through telling me to stay put and she would find me. I texted her my location via my phone as well as a borrowed phone. Various networks were getting texts in and out at different times. When we found each other, we gave each other HUGE hugs. Terri and I have known each other online for five years, but had met face to face for the first time Friday night when she picked me up from the airport. At that moment, we had known each other for a lifetime.
Terri had passed by an area where runners’ bags were available as she made her way to Massachusetts and Boylston. It was on the other side of Copley Square, and was quite a walk. We took Jamie with us. I think others came along, but this part is all a bit of a blur, to be honest. I remember walking, walking, walking. We tried to stay out of the shadows of the buildings, since it was cold in the shade as the wind blew between the buildings. Terri had brought a blanket in her backpack for me, which was a godsend. We also wanted to get to the family reunion areas. We had sent a text to Jamie’s phone for her husband to meet at the M sign. During the walk, we had to walk blocks out of our way after being told we couldn’t walk down one street or another. Blocks were closed to the public.
We got Jamie to the family reunion area and her husband wasn’t there. I offered to go find her bag while she waited there for her husband. We found a place where bags were being given to runners. My bib number was in the 19′s and they only had bibs from the 18′s. I saw runners with bags and water and we headed that way. I found volunteers give out water (yes please!) and was told there was still some food available. I walked further into the area, waiting to be told to leave by security and police. A very nice volunteer saw me and asked what I needed and I told her
food. She guided me to an area where she knew there were boxes of bananas. We were stopped by officials and this volunteer very forcefully said, “she is hypoglycemic and needs something to eat!” Someone handed me a banana and a
Power Bar Apple-Mango-Strawberry Energy Blend. Those things really hit the spot. I could tell that my body needed those calories. I had stopped eating Gu etc. way back in the race and was starting to feel shaky. I grabbed some food for Jamie as well.
Then I saw the buses with the bags. There were volunteers handing bags to runners. We had Jamie’s bib and Terri picked hers up while I picked up mine. FINALLY, I could put on my sweats, my sweatshirt and my Boston Marathon blue and yellow jacket. I had not officially finished the marathon, but I earned that jacket! I felt so much better. I gave the blanket back to Terri and we headed back to the reunion area to find Jamie.
Unfortunately, her husband wasn’t there. She was grateful for her bag and the food. We walked down the street where we saw the AT&T tent that had a dozen cell phones available to use for anyone. The AT&T representatives were SO nice. They had piles of cords for charging phones as well. My phone was out of batteries after trying to connect phone calls, texts, emails etc. I was so grateful to charge my phone and immediately tried calling my husband. As soon as I heard his voice, I broke down. He told me how much he loved me and I did the same. While I was talking to Kenny, Terri used an AT&T phone to call her mom. Her iPhone had died and her family was worried about her as well. They knew that she was cheering for a friend. She had her mom e-mail her boyfriend who is in Afghanistan, who (we found out later) had heard about the bombing and was very, very worried about her. Her mom filled her in on some of the news that had been on the television. Walking around downtown Boston, our only source of news was word of mouth.
Terri’s image was caught by NBC photographer. She was talking to her very worried family. You can see my pink visor in the background. I was talking to my husband. *courtesy of NBC News
Terri met an elderly man who looked like he was freezing and perhaps in shock. He was also trying to find his family. She gave him her blanket. This blanket was a beautiful blanket that she keeps on her couch. I was touched that she brought such a nice blanket for me for the end of the race instead of an old rag or towel. As we were heading to the Boston Commons later on, he wandered off to find his family, taking her blanket with him. She looked at me and said, “he definitely needs it more than I do.”
This man was cold and scared. He didn’t know where his family was. Terri gave him a blanket to help him warm up. *photo courtesy of NBC News
Ken, in Terri’s blanket, left us to find his family. He didn’t speak much… I sure hope he found his people.
I felt bad for Terri, who had basically given up her entire day to cheer me on and then be the Boston local guide through our downtown wanderings. She continued to march on, willing to help everyone. A police officer had told us that runners and families had been directed to the Boston Commons. Terri led us that way to continue the search for Jamie’s husband. We had called her hotel and there were no messages. She was beside herself with worry. I had no idea how to comfort her. By this time, I knew that all my running friends were safe and back to their hotels. The only thing we saw in the Boston Commons were soldiers and police officers. Jamie approached a police officer in tears and asked him what to do. He told her that the best thing at this point (it was probably around 5 p.m. by this time) was to go back to her hotel and wait. We all decided to split up at this time. I hated leaving her, but there was nothing more we could really do. We hugged and hugged some more. I gave her my number and made her promise to call me. We had spent hours together and she still hadn’t found her husband and I felt helpless. I also felt hungry and weary. We had walked at least three miles in addition to the 26 miles I ran.
As we reached the corner of Beacon and Charles, a runner approached us seeing my drop bag. ”Where did you get your bag??” She seemed desperate. We told her where it was. Her husband was ready to get in their car and get the heck back home to New Jersey. He asked her if she really needed her bag. She realized that she had found her family and just needed to get home. Terri offered to pick up her bag for her and send it to New Jersey. They all traded information, including the woman’s bib. This was just another act of kindness that Terri did that day. The New Jersey couple was very grateful and headed for their car to drive the many hours home. Terri found out yesterday that the couple paid it forward by offering a ride to several people to get out of the city toward New Jersey. They had eleven people in their SUV.
As we walked west on Beacon street, looking for a cab, I realized that I finally had to use the bathroom. I had not gone since before the race. It had been eight hours. We stopped in the famous Cheers bar to use the bathroom. The man at the door told us that they were closed, but he allowed me to go use the bathroom. It was sad…on a day that should have had people celebrating in that bar, they were closing at 5:30 p.m. Management just wanted their employees to be able to go home to their families.
We walked and walked some more. When we saw a cab, there were people in it. One cab from Brookline came by and he said he wasn’t allowed to pick up tolls in Boston. A lady near us commented that she doubted he would get in trouble today. I doubt police would write a ticket to a cabby transporting a runner to where she needs to go. I was too numb to get angry. Some people just can’t see the big picture. Luckily, most of the people we came across that day did see the big picture. We finally got a cab and headed back to Terri’s apartment. We got back there between 6:30 and 7. I had left there just over twelve hours earlier and it seemed like a lifetime.
I want/needed a shower, but I needed food more. But before walking down the street to a restaurant, I had to see my family. I had a wonderful Skype conversation with my husband and kids. They told me about their sleepover over the weekend and the snow that had fallen. They had built snow men and had snowball fights. The normalcy of their enthusiasm warmed my soul. My daughter blew kisses at the screen and made hearts with her hands. Weight lifted from my shoulders. My kids didn’t know what had happened. We didn’t want them to be afraid. We have since spoken to them about the situation. It was impossible for them to be shielded from the information. A first grader in my daughter’s class matter-of-factly told her that a bomb went off at the marathon and three people died. Luckily, my daughter doesn’t seem afraid of races etc. We are running
Bolder Boulder next month, which is one of the country’s biggest races and I don’t want them to be scared (although I might be, just a little).
Jamie called me to tell me that she had finally been reunited with her husband. Near her hotel, she met a couple that lived close by. They brought her home with them and used their land line and gave her food. She was able to reach her daughter-in-law in Arkansas who had spoken to her husband who was equally as distraught. Apparently, they were all so worried about Jamie that her son got on a plane to head from Arkansas to Boston! They were able to reach her husband who had been at a different part of the Boston Commons (which is more than a city block).
We finally went down to a restaurant (it was around 8 p.m. when we got there). I was craving protein and red meat (probably for the iron). I had steak, asparagus and mashed potatoes with a salad with bleu cheese dressing. Ah…so good! I also had a strong margarita. The waitress was so nice and offered her concern and congratulations. She told me I was a finisher in her eyes (as Terri had said all day).
This is the sentiment that I have seen/heard the past few days. I will KEEP RUNNING.
As I look at my Boston Marathon experience, there is SO MUCH MORE than the aftermath I wrote about above. Unfortunately, this act of senseless violence overshadows all the rest. Prior to the end of the race, however, I had mixed feelings about ever running a marathon again. I had a very difficult race and the end of it fell apart as it has so many times before. I was determined to finish it and be done. The bombings and inability to cross that finish line has changed my perspective completely. Now I am determined to qualify again so I can run this race again and CROSS THAT FINISH LINE. I am even more connected to the running community as we all come together in support of ALL runners and against terrorism. My thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families and will be running the Colorado Marathon in honor of them.
Look for my full race report soon. It really was quite a race.
