7/28/2019 Boston Marathon Newspaper Story

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KitchenerPOST Friday, April 19, 2013 PAGE 3

Lu c us mus sssBy Heather Abrey and

Charlotte Prong ParkhillKitchener Post staff

F

or thousands o people,Mondays Boston Marathonwas a day o near misses and

what is.Margaret Prange o Kitchener

stood near the nish line with hertwo daughters, age seven and ve.They didnt have long to wait Charles nished the 26-mile runin two hours, 55 minutes.

They ound him, hobbled witha hip muscle injury, had lunchand jumped in a cab to return totheir hotel.

Minutes later, one o two

bombs exploded in the very spotwhere Margaret and the childrenhad been standing earlier.

Three people were killed andmore than 170 injured, includingseveral who suered severe legand oot injuries that led to am-putation.

I was just there with the kids,Margaret said.

It was such a wonderul day,such great energy. People were so

happy. They train so hard.It was important or Charles

that the kids be there to see himcomplete the race.

Theyve seen dad return atertwo- and three-hour training ses-sions that began at 5 a.m., rain,snow or sunshine. Theyve seendad ail at a marathon last springthat I was unable to nish. As adad, I can only hope this was abenecial lie lesson or them

somehow, he said.Karrie Gregson has run theBoston Marathon three times. Itsan amazing experience, she says.

This year, she was entered andplanning to run. And then shedidnt.

I had this gut eeling to pullout, or many dierent reasons,

she said.But shell denitely be there in2014.

The energy o Patriots Dayis like no other, and the streetsare lled to the brim with peoplecheering and screaming and par-tying because its such a big daythere.

Local real estate agent JohnSummers nished his marathonin three hours, 46 minutes, andheaded straight to his hotel. Justour blocks rom the nish line,the hotel later became an FBIcommand post.

I elt so good I didnt even

shower or change, just got right inthe car and let just as it was hap-pening, he said.

I saw dozens and dozens oemergency vehicles converging

on the area as we were leaving, sowe knew something was happen-ing.

His wie had also been standingright where the bomb exploded asshe waited or him to cross the n-ish line, and the couple had stoodthere together the day beore,watching those who were runningone-mile races.

It is a very strange eeling,Summers said. I eel terrible orthe carnage in the city. Everythingweve seen on TV we recognizeall the pictures and the ellow ath-letes and their amilies that wereaected.

This was my ourth time inBoston and the cheering seemedlouder than ever. And then itturned to tremendous sadnessand sorrow. I eel bad or the city.Its a great city a great race

that is suering greatly today.Patrick Campbell was also run-ning his ourth race. His partnerLiz and her son Nigel had alsobeen waiting at the nish line orhim.

They saw emergency vehiclesrushing the area as they wereheading out, and then Campbellstarted getting Facebook ande-mail messages rom riends won-dering i he was OK.

People were thankul that Imast or an old guy, he said.Its been an emotional expe-

rience or both him and Liz, hesaid.

Im eeling upset by the actthat people got injured and every-one was disjointed they couldntnd their amily members, peoplewere killed and maimed.

Campbell, who has also com-pleted our Ironman triathlons,wont be returning to Boston. Itisnt a race thats been kind tohim in terms o logistics, stressand injuries.

Boston has been my nemesis,he said.

Friends and amily o Kitch-ener runners Ken Anderson, 70,and Lesley Germann have con-tacted the Kitchener Post to saythey are sae. There have beenno reports so ar o injuries to anyCanadians.

For Charles Prange, the hoursollowing the race were a hur-ricane o powerul and confict-ing emotions shock, disbelie,

and heartbreak. He elt relie andgratitude that his amily was un-harmed, anger at the monsterwho did this, and guilt or thepride he had elt in running well.

But he will be going back.

I cannot wait to run Bostonagain. The Boston Marathon, asany runner knows, is not just amarathon. Its a religious experi-ence. Once its in your blood, itsthere orever, he said.

You cannot kill the BostonMarathon with pipe bombs. It willbe back stronger than ever.

cprong@kitchenerpost.cahabrey@kitchenerpost.ca

CityNEWSKITCHENER POST

photo courtesy o charles prange

Ki i c p w 15 d k i B m. h fid i w b bmb w fi i w i mi d b wii im.

Kcus

Kitchener runners who wereentered to run the BostonMarathon:

Robert Baxter, 53

Paul Braun, 49

Patrick Campbell, 53 Flo Currier, 62

Lesley Germann, 48

Karrie Gregson, 41

Tammy Hynes, 39

David Johnson, 60

Carrie Jones, 41

Tara Kamrath, 35

Charles Prange, 40

Tim Rich, 28

John Summers, 64 Michael White, 44

Kitchener runners share their stories from the Boston Marathon and the blast that killed three

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