Photo from @boston_to_a_T shows explosion at the #BostonMarathon (Photo: Dan Lampariello/Twitter) twitter.com/msnbc/status/3…
— msnbc (@msnbc) April 15, 2013
Video shows the moment of one of the blasts at the Boston Marathon – captured from TV bit.ly/YXVHWz
— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) April 15, 2013
At least eight runners linked to the University of Oregon were on the start list for the Boston Marathon when two explosions occurred at the finish line, killing two and injuring up to 100, according The Boston Globe.
UO faculty members Tom Titus, 56, and Craig Leon, 28 and former runner Jason Hartmann had finished the marathon before the bombs exploded. Also present were former UO students Liz James and Greg James, both 37, law school senior director Jacob Logan, 34, graduate student and teaching fellow Heather Marek, 27, and law faculty member Sheena Dahlke, 30. Fourteen runners from Eugene finished the marathon before the explosion; 23 Eugene residents were registered total, according to official marathon results.
“My husband, Greg, and I had just finished about 25 minutes prior,” Liz James told the Emerald via email. “We were planning to stay and enjoy the festivities but decided at the last-minute to head back to our nearby hotel. We were walking blocks from the finish line when we heard two loud blasts, just minutes apart.”
“At first, we thought it might be some sort of Patriot’s Day cannon blast,” she continued. “The blasts were extremely loud. We realized quickly that something was wrong when we started seeing spectators running from the area toward the Charles River, away from the blast. Everyone was stunned, shocked and trying to get cell phone service. It was horrific.”
Former Ducks track and field athlete Jason Hartmann finished in fourth place and first among Americans. (Emerald Archives_
A few runners with Oregon connections finished the race frighteningly close to the time of the explosions, according to Dusty Harrah, a host and producer at ESPN 1080 radio in Portland, who tweeted, “351 runners in Boston Marathon from Oregon. 5 finished within 1m30sec of reported time of explosion. 24 within 10min prior-to or after.”
Hartmann, a former Duck who finished fourth overall in the marathon, was the top American finisher. Leon, an administrative assistant at the UO law school and member of Team Run Eugene, finished 10th in the race, approximately three hours before the bombs went off.
“Reports of two explosions 50 ft from the finish line. Mass chaos. People running everywhere,” Leon tweeted around noon.
He tweeted once again at 12:45 PST to say he and his team were safe: “Our group is safe. We are in a hotel lockdown nearby and cell phones are out. Prayers to everyone outside.”
KEZI spoke to UO alum Scott McCullouch, who ran the Boston Marathon for the first time today.
“Right now, I can’t believe what we’re hearing. We’ve been watching it,” he told them via telephone. “A couple of people are reportedly dead, 20 something injured. So we are very thankful to be clear of the scene right now.”
Two more explosive devices have been found at the scene and are being dismantled, according to The Associated Press.
Runners who had not finished the race when the bombs went off were diverted to a family meeting area at Boston Common, according to the Associated Press.
Other runners who have ties to the Eugene-Springfield area, according to The Register-Guard, include: Robert Franklin, 46, of Eugene; Zach Klonoski, 28, of Eugene; Bobby Jennings, 40, of Eugene; Larry Coxe, 57, of Eugene; Tom Titus, 56, of Eugene; Bella Richardson, 29, of Eugene; Trae Richardson, 29, of Eugene; Paul Pearson, 51, of Florence; Liz James, 37, of Eugene; Jonna Leighton, 39, of Eugene; Greg James, 37, of Eugene; Christine Bodner, 33, of Springfield; Nancy Gissel, 54, of Eugene; David Bong, 61, of Eugene; and Corey Culp, 38, of Blue River.
“The hardest part to understand is how this could happen to such innocent people,” Liz James wrote. “The whole 26.2 miles was lined with the most fantastic and energetic supporters. The finish line area was five people deep, cheering on all the finishers who were accomplishing lifelong goals.”
“Those people are sons, daughters, mothers, fathers, family and friends of all kinds,” she continued, “who were just enjoying the moment and the energy from the marathon. It’s just awful.”
Anyone who has information about marathon participants or is still searching for updates on friends and loved ones can visit the Google Person Finder.
Ian Campbell, Craig Garcia, Turner Maxwell, Sami Edge, Isaac Rosenthal, Andy Rossback and McKenna Brown contributed to this report.