Runners Recount Chaotic Scene at Finish Line

　　The Boston Marathon took a tragic and unexpected turn Monday when two deadly explosions brought the race to a halt. The standards for qualifying to run in the race are among the highest of any marathon, and athletes endure months and in many cases years of training to get to the starting line. The following are accounts from some of the runners who participated in Monday's race.

　　Wesley Korir, Kenya

　　Wesley Korir, the 2012 Boston Marathon champion, was pushing his young daughter in a stroller Monday evening and recovering from his fifth-place finish today. 'Where we are from in Kenya, it is close to Sudan. Sometimes there is violence. But when you come to America, you expect it to be safer,' he said.

　　In the future, he worries that marathons will become more expensive for organizers, which he projects 'will probably need more police.' But it won't affect his future plans.

　　'We'll keep training harder, for the people who perished today,' he said.

　　Dave Jimenez, 40, Texas

　　Dave Jimenez, a 40-year-old from Dallas, was near mile 22 when the bombs exploded. Race officials ushered him to St. Ignatius church on the Boston College campus. There, the runners were given water and, just before their departure from the church hours later, pizza courtesy of Boston College students. Mr. Jimenez said he didn't hear of an alternate finish line and said most runners weren't concerned with the race. Many of the younger runners were in tears over the explosion.

　　Sean Haggerty, 44, New Hampshire

　　Sean Haggerty, a state trooper from New Hampshire, said he was approaching the finish line when the first explosion went off. When he heard the noise, Haggerty thought at first that is was 'some kind of ceremonial cannon' going off prematurely.

　　'Once I felt the concussion, I knew what it was,' he said. 'Fortunately I was on the right side of the road running at that point. Within what I thought was ten seconds or so, the second explosion went off and it was complete chaos.'

　　Mr. Haggerty said he saw Boston police and Massachusetts state police trying to get through the broken barriers at the scene of the blast. Mr. Haggerty walked around the fencing and into the blast site, where he and another man helped carry a man who 'was clearly in bad shape' out to the middle of the road.

　　When he returned to the blast site, 'there were people lying all over the place,' he said. 'People were severely injured, a lot of lower extremity injuries.'

　　Mr. Haggerty said he grabbed a belt from another person at the scene and fashioned a tourniquet for a woman who was bleeding heavily from a leg wound, and eventually got her into a wheelchair and pushed her away from the scene, past the finish line to the post-race medical tent.

　　After a while, Mr. Haggerty said, he left the medical tent, looking for a safe place to wait until joining three other New Hampshire troopers who had run the race with colleagues from Massachusetts, for a ride back to their state.

　　'I've seen quite a bit during the course of my 13, 14-year career,' he said. 'But nothing like that.'

　　Brent Cunningham, 46, Alaska

　　'We heard two explosions, and I thought, 'that had a 9/11 feel to it,'' said Brent Cunningham, who had traveled from Sitka, Alaska, on Friday to run the marathon. He had already finished the race before the blasts and was walking in Boston Common with his family. 'It wasn't until we heard sirens, then we knew something had happened.'

　　Jodi Greenburg, 49, Massachusetts

　　Jodi Greenburg, from nearby Newton, Mass, was running her second Boston marathon. She was less than a mile from the finish line when she heard about the explosions. Runners began turning and walking away, she said, looking for ways to connect with friends and family.

　　'A lot of people used my phone to text their families and stuff. And the texts weren't going through,' she said.

　　She was one of many runners leaving the cordoned off finish-line area in Boston clutching metallic capes to keep warm in the chill. Multiple runners spoke of the kindness of people they encountered.

　　Beth Wolniewicz, 46, Chicago

　　'I saw the first explosion. I never saw the second one go off,' said Beth Wolniewicz, a Chicago resident who finished the race about three minutes before the first explosion and was about 50 to 100 feet past the finish line. 'It was loud but more staggering was the velocity of the smoke. It was rising really quickly.'

　　'It was pretty chaotic. It was the fear of the unknown. When it first went off wasn't a lot of reaction from volunteers or runners but you could hear all the sirens. I think it was the reality of how many fire trucks and how many police cars and unmarked cars quickly responded to situation.'

　　Carl Godwin, 65, Nebraska

　　Carl Godwin, a pastor from Linclon, Neb., was holding a cape over a black, plastic trash bag somebody else had given him. Somebody else gave him candy. He was also in the last mile when officials halted the race. 'I was just running like crazy trying to finish that last mile and all of a sudden people were stacked up ahead,' he said. 'And I thought 'what is going on, I've never seen anything like this before.' '

　　He was running in his 22nd marathon and second Boston race. He said some runners were disappointed to miss their chance at finishing, at least until the full gravity of what happened became apparent. 'That's what you run for, that finish line feeling,' he said. 'It is so awesome to turn onto Boylston [Street].'

　　But 'nobody was complaining,' he said.

　　Mark Pelletier, 51, Massachusetts

　　Mark Pelletier, of Norwell, Mass., who manages an architectural services firm, had just finished the marathon, having stopped at the grandstand on the right side of the street before crossing the finish line, to hug his two children. He said he had not gone far past the line when he heard the first blast. Mr. Pelletier at first thought it might have been the sound of an exploding transformer.

　　He tried to run back to the grandstand, where his children Michael, 24, and Elise, 22, had been standing, but was stopped by a police officer. Mr. Pelletier was able to reach his wife by cell phone, but his phone battery soon died he'd been using it to monitor his progress over the course. Eventually he was able to borrow a cell phone and arrange a reunion with his children, who said they had run from the scene after the twin explosions.

　　'It's funny,' Mr. Pelletier said. 'It was like a perfect day for me. I ran my best time: it was 14 minutes better than my last time. And my kids were there.'

　　'I hope they find these people,' he added, 'and I hope justice is swift.'

　　Phyllis Perkins, 46, Illinois

　　Phyllis Perkins, a runner from Naperville, Ill., was crying. She was with her running partner Christine Bell, 46 years old, also of Naperville. They were less than a half mile from the finish line when they heard the blast. 'This was my first (marathon) and at first I thought it was part of the celebration,' said Ms. Perkins.

　　Then they saw police running. 'That's when I knew something was very wrong,' said Ms. Bell. 'They stopped us and said you are NOT going any farther,' Ms. Bell said. The pair never finished the race.

　　Thom Kenney, 43, Army Veteran

　　Thom Kenney, an Army veteran who recently returned from Afghanistan, had just finished running in the marathon.

　　'I was about 50 feet away. I had just crossed the finish line. We were entering the recovery area when the first explosion went off. There were probably three or four people around me. We were all crouching down. Most of the people were looking back at the first explosion, wondering what it was, when the second explosion went off. When that went off, we all started calling our families as fast as we could.'

　　Wendy Jaehn, 38, Chicago

　　Wendy Jaehn, executive director for Chicago Area Runners Association, a nonprofit running association, had finished the race, showered and was about to step into a cab to the airport when she got a phone call. Ms. Jaehn's association had bused about 100 runners to the marathon, and she said they were working to track down individual runners.

　　'A lot of reports have been coming back over Facebook so we know majority of runners are accounted for.'

　　At the airport, she described the mood as 'somber.' 'We are just reeling from it. This has fundamentally altered the sport and how these events will be run and managed. It's just devastating.'

　　NPR personality Peter Sagal, a renowned runner, had run the race as an escort for a legally blind competitor, William Greer, participating in his first Boston Marathon. Messrs. Sagal and Greer had just crossed the finish line, completing the race with a time of four hours, four minutes, when the explosions went off.

　　'I was about 100 yards beyond the finish line,' Mr. Sagal said, entering the finishing chute where runners cool down after the race. 'You get your medal and the bananas and treats, when there was a huge explosion, it sounded like a really big firework, a very loud noise, louder than say a backfire or anything like that,' said Mr. Sagal, who hosts NPR's weekly news quiz, 'Wait, Wait… Don't Tell Me!' and writes a column for Runner's World magazine.

　　He turned to see a plume of white smoke rise, when suddenly another explosion followed, doubling the smoke.

　　'At that point, officials who were there just to get an orderly exit from the marathon urged us to keep moving away from the finish line and William and I had a very normal marathon finish,' Mr. Sagal said. But rumors flew and 'nobody had any idea what was going on.'

　　The run with Mr. Greer was a charity event that raised around $10,000 for the Massachusetts Association for the Blind, said Mr. Sagal, who also is host of a forthcoming series on PBS-TV, 'Constitution USA with Peter Sagal.'

　　His partner, whose vision is limited to making out hazy shapes, 'was a little freaked out,' Mr. Sagal said, and mainly concerned about locating his wife. She eventually was found, and all three are safe, Mr. Sagal said.[page]

　　‘You Could Just Hear Moans’

　　Gloribi Ruiz, 27, and Jahcobi Cosm, 22, were standing between the two explosions.

　　When the first one went off, there was confusion, they said, then smoke billowed down the street. People started running toward them. Then a second explosion went off in front of a Starbucks in the direction that people had been fleeing the first.

　　The scene afterward became chaotic. The pair said they, like many others, sought refuge in a cigar bar, startling patrons who were smoking and drinking.

　　“People are yelling and pushing each other” trying to get in, Mr. Cosm said.

　　“People were falling down and people were walking all over them,” Ms. Ruiz said.

　　As the smoke was clearing, Mr. Cosm ventured into the street to take video. He described a bloody scene.

　　One man had taken off his shirt, ripped it in half and was tending to what Mr. Cosm described as a baby who was bleeding a lot.

　　Another man, who appeared to be a runner, had a large gash in his leg and was wrapping it with cloth, Ms. Ruiz said.

　　People were taking off their shirts ─ apparently to use to stanch bleeding ─ and gathering around a person who appeared severely injured, Ms. Ruiz said.

　　“There was a lot of blood and a lot of people almost piled on top of each other,” Mr. Cosm said. “Some people were just huddled against each other crying. You could just hear moans.”

　　波士顿马拉松赛选手讲述爆炸后混乱情景

　　波士顿马拉松赛(Boston Marathon)周一出现始料未及的悲剧转折，两次致命爆炸让整个赛事陷入停顿。本届马拉松赛事的选拔标准是所有马拉松赛事中最高的，为了参加这项赛事，运动员们都经历了几个月甚至数年的训练。下文是参加了周一马拉松比赛的一些选手的叙述。

　　韦斯利•科里尔(Korir)，肯尼亚

　　韦斯利•科里尔是2012年的波士顿马拉松赛冠军得主，周一傍晚他一边用婴儿车推着他的女儿，一边恢复体力。他在这次比赛中获得了第五名。他说，我来自肯尼亚，离苏丹很近，那边有时会发生暴力事件;可是你来到美国之后，你会指望这里能更安全一点。

　　他担心，未来组织马拉松赛事的成本会越来越高，因为他认为可能需要更多的警察。不过此事并未影响他对未来的规划。

　　他说，我们会继续更加努力地训练，为了今天逝去的生命。

　　戴夫•希门尼斯(Dave Jimenez)，40岁，得克萨斯

　　现年40岁的戴夫•希门尼斯来自达拉斯，炸弹爆炸的时候他跑了将近22英里(合35公里)。赛事管理人员把他带到了波士顿学院(Boston College)校园内的圣依纳爵教堂。有人在教堂内向参赛选手提供了水，几个小时后他们准备离开教堂之前，波士顿学院的学生送来了披萨。希门尼斯说，他没有听说另外设置了一个终点线的事，还说大多数选手已经不怎么关心比赛了。很多较为年轻的选手都因为爆炸事件痛哭流涕。

　　肖恩•哈格蒂(Haggerty)，44岁，新罕布什尔

　　肖恩•哈格蒂来自新罕布什尔州，是该州的一名骑警。他说第一次爆炸发生时他正要冲过终点线。听到爆炸声时，哈格蒂还以为是提早响起的庆祝炮声。

　　他说，等感受到震荡之后，我就明白是怎么一回事了;幸运的是，当时我在跑道的右侧;我觉得大约过了10秒钟，第二次爆炸声响起，现场完全陷入混乱。

　　哈格蒂说，他看到波士顿和马萨诸塞州的警察试图通过爆炸现场受损的路障。哈格蒂步行绕过了防护栏，进入爆炸现场，他和另外一名男子帮助抬出了一名伤势明显很重的男性，把他放到路中间。

　　他说，当他返回到爆炸现场时，到处都躺着人，有些人伤势严重，很多人下肢受伤。

　　哈格蒂说，他从现场的另外一个人那里拿了条皮带，给一个腿部受伤大量出血的女人当止血带，最后把她抬到轮椅上，推着她离开现场，经过终点线进入了赛后医疗帐篷。

　　哈格蒂说，过了一会儿他离开了医疗帐篷，找了一个安全的地方等待与另外三名来自新罕布什尔州的骑警会和，然后一起乘车返回新罕布什尔。这三人与马萨诸塞州的同事一同参加了比赛。

　　他说，我在自己十三、四年的职业生涯中也见过不少大场面了，但从来没见过这样的场面。[page]

　　布伦特•坎宁安(Brent Cunningham)，46岁，阿拉斯加

　　上周五从阿拉斯加州锡特卡到波士顿参赛的坎宁安说，我们听到了两声爆炸声，我心想这“有点911的感觉”。爆炸发生时，他已经跑完了比赛，正和家人走在波士顿公园(Boston Common)里。他说，直到听到警笛声，我们才知道出事了。

　　约迪•格林伯格(Jodi Greenburg)，49岁，马萨诸塞州

　　来自波士顿附近马萨诸塞州牛顿的格林伯格是第二次参加波士顿马拉松赛。当她听到爆炸声响时她距离终点不到一英里(约合1.6公里)。她说，当时选手开始掉头走开，纷纷想办法和家人朋友取得联系。

　　她说，很多人用我的手机给家人发短信，但短信发不出去。

　　格林伯格是众多离开终点附近警戒区域时披着披肩御寒的选手之一。众多选手谈到了他们遇到的人所表示出的善意。

　　贝丝•沃涅维茨(Beth Wolniewicz)，46岁，芝加哥

　　芝加哥居民沃涅维茨说，我看到了第一次爆炸，但我从未预见到还有第二次爆炸。沃涅维茨在第一次爆炸前约三分钟冲过终点线，爆炸发生时她超过终点大约50至100英尺。她说，现场很吵，但更惊人的是烟雾弥漫的速度。烟雾升腾的速度真的很快。

　　她说，现场非常混乱，这是对未知的恐惧。第一次爆炸发生时，志愿者和选手并没有太多反应，但你能听到所有的警报声。我想现场情况是大量救火车、警车以及没有标记的车辆对情况迅速做出回应。

　　卡尔•戈德温(Carl Godwin)，65岁，内布拉斯加州

　　来自内布拉斯加州林肯的牧师戈德温在别人给他的黑色塑料垃圾袋上披着一件斗篷。有人给了他糖果。在主办方停止比赛的时候戈德温距终点还有最后一英里。他说，当时我正疯狂地快跑，试图结束这最后一英里的比赛。突然之间前方人头攒动。我心想这是怎么回事，我还从未见过这种情况。

　　这是他第二次参加波士顿马拉松赛，也是他的第22场马拉松赛。他说一些选手对自己未能跑完比赛感到失望，至少在现场情况完全明了之前他们的感觉是这样。他说，这就是你参赛的目的，去享受冲过终点的刹那感觉。当我们最终转入Boylston大街时那种感觉真棒。

　　但他说，没有人抱怨。

　　马克•佩尔蒂埃(Mark Pelletier)，51岁，美国马萨诸塞州

　　来自麻萨诸塞州洛厄尔的佩尔蒂埃是一家建筑服务公司的负责人，他刚刚完成比赛。在冲过终点线前，他曾在街道右侧的看台停留，以拥抱他的两个孩子。他说听到第一次爆炸声响时他刚过终点没多远。佩尔蒂埃起初以为这可能是变压器爆炸的声音。

　　他试图跑回看台，但被一名警察拦住。他的儿子迈克尔(24岁)和女儿伊莉斯(22岁)就站在看台。佩尔蒂埃用手机联系上妻子，但他的手机电池很快就没电了，因为在比赛过程中他一直在用手机监控自己的比赛情况。最后他借了部手机才得以和子女团聚。他的子女说在两次爆炸发生后他们从现场逃走。

　　佩尔蒂埃说，这很有意思，对我来说这是完美的一天。我跑出了最好成绩：和我上次用时相比，这次比赛我快了14分钟。我的孩子还在现场。

　　他说，我希望他们能找到作案者，我希望正义能迅速得到彰显。

　　菲利斯•珀金斯(Phyllis Perkins)，46岁，伊利诺伊州

　　来自伊利诺伊州内伯维尔(Naperville)的选手珀金斯在哭泣，在她身旁的是她的同伴、同样来自内伯维尔的46岁的贝尔(Christine Bell)。她们在距离终点还不到半英里的时候听到了爆炸声。珀金斯说，这是我第一次参加马拉松比赛，起初我还以为是什么庆祝活动。

　　然后她们看到有警察在跑动。贝尔说，我这才意识到出事了。贝尔说，他们把我们拦住，对我们说，你们不要再向前跑了。两个人未能完成这场比赛。

　　托姆•肯尼(Thom Kenney)，43岁，退伍军人

　　肯尼是最近才从阿富汗回国的退伍军人，他刚刚跑完比赛。

　　他说，我当时在距离爆炸点50英尺的位置，刚刚冲过终点线。第一次爆炸发生时，我们正在进入恢复区。我周围大约有三、四个人。我们都蹲下了。大多数人回头看，想知道是怎么回事，这时第二次爆炸发生了。然后，我们都开始尽可能快地给家人打电话。

　　温迪•耶恩(Wendy Jaehn)，38岁，芝加哥

　　耶恩是非营利跑步运动协会芝加哥地区跑步者协会(Chicago Area Runners Association)的执行主任，她完成了比赛，冲完了澡，正打算乘出租车去机场时，她接到了一个电话。耶恩的协会用汽车运送了大约100名选手去参加马拉松比赛，她说，协会正在努力追踪每一个运动员的下落。

　　她说，通过Facebook有大量报告传回。所以我们知道大多数运动员的情况。

　　耶恩在机场说，她的心情非常沮丧。她说，我们感到无比震撼。此次爆炸案已经彻底地改变了这项运动，以及这些赛事的运营和管理方式。它的影响简直让人难以承受。

　　彼得•萨加尔(Peter Sagal)，美国国家公共电台(NPR)

　　美国国家公共电台的明星萨加尔也参加了比赛，他是盲人选手威廉•格里尔(William Greer)比赛中的陪同者。这是格里尔第一次参加波士顿马拉松比赛。爆炸发生时，萨加尔和格里尔刚刚冲过了终点线，成绩是4小时4分。

　　萨加尔进入了运动员们在比赛后让身体渐渐平静下来的终点滑道，他说，我已经在超过终点线100码的位置。我们得到了奖牌、香蕉和好吃的，突然发生了大爆炸，听起来就像是很大的鞭炮，声音非常大，比汽车回火或类似的声音都大。萨加尔主持美国国家公共电台每周的新闻答问比赛节目《等等，别告诉我!》 (Wait, Wait… Don't Tell Me!)，并为《跑步者世界》(Runner's World)杂志撰写专栏。

　　他回身看到一片白烟升起，紧接着发生了第二次爆炸，烟雾顿时增加了一倍。

　　萨加尔说，当时，维持退场秩序的官员们要求我们远离终点线，威廉和我的马拉松正常地完成了比赛。但是人们开始议论纷纷，没有人知道到底发生了什么。

　　与格里尔一同比赛是为了一项慈善活动，该活动已经为马萨诸塞州盲人协会(Massachusetts Association for the Blind)筹集了大约1万美元。萨加尔还是即将在公共电视网电视台(PBS-TV)上播出的系列节目《与萨加尔看宪法美国》(Constitution USA with Peter Sagal)的主持人。

　　他的伙伴有视力缺陷，只能辨别出事物的模糊形状。萨加尔说，他有点吓着了。他最担心的是妻子当时在哪里。萨加尔说，他的妻子最终被找到了，我们三人都安然无恙。

　　“能听到呻吟声”

　　27岁的鲁伊斯(Gloribi Ruiz)和22岁的科斯姆(Jahcobi Cosm)当时站在两起爆炸的发生地之间。

　　他们说，传来第一次爆炸声时，大家都很困惑，浓烟沿着街道弥散开来。人们开始朝他们这边跑。然后在一家星巴克(Starbucks)门口发生了第二次爆炸，就是人们最初逃离的方向。

　　随后，场面变得混乱起来。鲁伊斯和科斯姆说，他们跟其他人一样，想到一个雪茄吧里避一避，吓坏了那些正在抽烟喝酒的客人。

　　科斯姆说，人们尖叫着，推搡着，都试图要进来。

　　鲁伊斯说，有人摔倒，人们从他们身上跨过。

　　随着烟雾散尽，科斯姆冒险回到街上，想拍视频。他描述了了一个血淋淋的场面。

　　据科斯姆讲，一名男子把衬衫脱下，撕成两截，照看一名流了很多血的婴儿。

　　鲁伊斯说，另一名似乎是参赛选手的男子腿上有一个很大的伤口，正在用布包扎。

　　鲁伊斯说，人们纷纷脱下衬衣(好像是为了止血)，围在一个似乎伤势很重的人身旁。

　　科斯姆说，地上有很多血，很多人几乎是人摞人，一些人相互拥在一起哭泣，能听到呻吟声。