Prior to 2:50pm, it was a fantastic day. The sun was shining and the crowd was pumped to cheer on these amazing athletes. Andrew's mother was here to help us cheer him on and we had a lot of fun out in Cleveland Circle near the 35km mark of the marathon route cheering on all of the runners. We were there early enough to see the elite men and the elite women leaders, as well as the wheelchair participants. The crowd was amazing, cheering for every single runner and it was a pleasure to be part of that crowd.
Andrew was right on pace and when he passed us, he was looking good. He's been injured for several weeks and we were happy to see that he wasn't limping.
As soon as he passed us, we hopped onto an extremely packed subway train and travelled downtown to try to see him at the finish line. When we got to street level, it was impossible to see anything, as the crowds were far too packed.
We discovered that Andrew had crossed the finish line and made the time of 2:54:02!!!!!!!!!! Positively outstanding, we are so proud of him! We met him in the family meeting area and began to celebrate.
We decided to go out for a celebratory lunch at the nearby Cheesecake Factory, which is about a block away from the finish line. It was shortly after we had sat down that we were informed there were two explosions at the finish line and the restaurant was in lockdown. Thankfully we had our cell phones and iPad with us, as we could notify our closest family members that we were okay.
As the subway was closed, we waited two hours at the restaurant attempting to enjoy our meal but with the little information that we had about the explosions, had already lost our appetites and were in no mood to be celebrating. Finally we decided that the best thing for us to do was to get the kids home where it was safer and proceeded to walk home (despite Andrew having just completed his marathon). Luckily we only had to walk a few kilometers before we found out they opened the Fenway T stop and we hopped on to get home. I've never been so relieved to be home in my life.
Luckily Maddy was sleeping at the restaurant and was sheltered from the events of that day. As a few days have passed, we now realize it was a terrorist attack and have begun to sink in just how lucky we were that Andrew already completed the race.
I feel deep sorrow for the families who lost their loved ones. I feel pain for the ones who lost their limbs or were severely injured that day. I also feel deep sadness for the runners who did not complete the race and were held up down the street unable to complete their journey. But out of dark days come appreciation, gratitude, and hope. I was so proud to see video footage of people not running FROM the blast area but running TO the blast area to help. I am happy to see the stories of people who volunteered immediately, even runners who had just completed their race. And I am happy to walk the streets of Boston and see how resilient the people of this amazing city are. We have survived, and I truly hope that the parties responsible for this horrendous event are brought to justice.
To my Andrew, I am so proud of you, and I hope we can look back on this event with both pride for your accomplishments but also with a sense of gratitude for our safety and health.
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