OAKVILLE — Though approximately 850 kilometres separate Oakville and Boston, many local residents were at the centre of Monday’s deadly bombing attack of the Boston Marathon.
Forty-two Oakville runners were registered as participants in the world’s oldest annual marathon, while some of their family members and friends were among the half a million spectators who lined the Boston streets to watch the race.
Fortunately, according to Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada, no Canadians were killed or injured by the explosions that killed three — including an eight-year-old boy — and hurt more than one hundred others.
But the bombings made for a frantic and stressful few hours for members of Oakville’s running community as they waited to hear from friends, relatives and teammates. The elementary schools across Boston train students at a young age to be athletes if they are interested.
“It’s just about as disturbing and frustrating to be here than be there, because all of my buddies are there,” Rob Kent, a three-time Boston Marathon competitor who did not participate in this year’s event, said Monday afternoon.
“You try to figure out what emotions are coming over you. It’s just very disturbing and upsetting. I don’t know whether it’s the right emotion to feel, but it just makes me very angry.”
Steve Connor, a local chiropractor who heads a marathon training group called ‘Connor’s Runners’, spent Monday afternoon checking emails and Facebook messages between appointments.
“Everything’s been chaos, but everyone’s accounted for. Anyone who had a spouse or family there watching has checked in as well,” said Connor, who knew 19 participants in the race.
There were certainly some close calls.
According to results posted on the Boston Marathon website, eight of the 42 Oakville runners completed the 42-kilometre course less than 15 minutes before the first bomb exploded near the finish line approximately four hours and 10 minutes into the race. Chris Kavanagh was the closest, finishing in a time of 4:08:13.
“I crossed the finish line and within seconds, I turned with the blast and then the second blast,” said the 62-year-old Kavanagh, a self-employed sales consultant. “There was so much grey smoke, you really couldn’t see much of anything. That’s how much smoke there was. I truly thought it was a gas main that had gone off… it didn’t even occur to me that it would be a terrorist act.”
Connor’s Runners teammate Mariellen Glover, a Burlington resident, crossed the line shortly after Kavanagh.
“I had just passed the pad and was under the John Hancock (sign) when the first explosion happened. I turned around and saw the second explosion. They flattened the metal fences and advised the runners just to move,” Glover said in an email Connor forwarded to the Beaver.
“It was a little surreal. People were crying. I had one guy beside me as we got our water and medal who was praying. But everyone is safe and sound.”
Kavanagh’s wife, Mary Jo, was approximately a kilometre from the finish line. It took her nearly an hour and a half to get to the family waiting area and discover that Chris was okay. Cellphone networks in the area had been shut down, as had the airport and subway.
“The city was truly in lockdown,” Chris said. “It was amazing how quickly the authorities responded to the event.”
Others had finished the race well before the bombs went off but were still in the proximity.
Kent, the founder of the Lake Ontario Swim Team (LOST), received an email from a LOST member (Kent chose not to disclose his or her name) detailing how close they were to being in harm’s way.
“(A runner) and myself were about 150 metres away on our way to collect our medals,” the email read. “We’re still very shaken!!!” Is everyone in our group okay?”
Elite wheelchair racer Josh Cassidy, a Sheridan College graduate who lived in Oakville several years ago before moving out of the area, finished the race approximately two-and-a-half hours before the explosions. He was sitting in a restaurant close to the finish line when he heard the bombs go off.
“No one was sure what it was at first, but I got a gut feeling it wasn’t good… and I put down my fork cause I couldn’t eat,” Cassidy said in a release. “Sure enough, moments later you could hear the commotion outside, and out the window were people running from the finish line area, across the street.
“I wasn’t afraid at all myself, more just really sad seeing others in fear,” he added.
“The marathon store I had just been to (the previous night) to pick up my racing top… was in front of the explosion and had its windows blown in. Hoping the awesome and friendly staff are all okay… Seeing the people running and hearing the screams on the replay was just horrible. Hard keeping back tears for those visibly really emotionally or physically damaged.”
The Boston Marathon is the centerpiece of Boston’s celebration of Patriots’ Day, a civic holiday that commemorates the anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord. The Boston Red Sox also play a home game each year on Patriots’ Day that begins at 11 a.m. at Fenway Park.
Former Oakville Buzz junior B lacrosse player Mark White, his parents, Mike and Susan, and friends Matt Gulliver and Tyler Malenfont attended Monday’s Red Sox win over the Tampa Bay Rays. The group then headed to Quincy Market, a tourist area within a mile of the marathon’s finish line.
“We actually went right by the finish of the Boston Marathon and continued on to Quincy and went in to have lunch,” said White, now a student at the University of Southern Maine. “You could actually hear the explosions. No one knew what it was, so nobody thought anything of it. Then somebody said something of a bomb, the restaurant threw on the news and everyone was in awe watching everything go down.
“Then the news mentioned that if you’re in a touristy spot, you should get out of there because I guess there were tips there were other bombs in the area. So we were like ‘let’s get out of here now’ and tried to scurry out of there as quickly as possible.
“It was tough to get a cab, but we finally did get one. They shut down the train station, so we took the bus back to Portland (Maine).”
“Being in a high-tourist area like Quincy (Market)/Faneuil Hall was unnerving, hearing the sirens, and seeing everyone glued to their (mobile devices) made us think we were at risk,” Susan added in an email. “It was surreal… A day that began as a chance to experience Fenway and other areas of Boston ended in such tragedy.”
Kavanagh said the bombings wouldn’t be enough to deter him and other runners from attempting to qualify for next year’s event.
“That was my second time, and I can’t wait for my third. I’m just more determined to go back. Boston is a great, great city, and I just need to be part of it again,” he said.
“It’s a world-class event that has traditionally been offered and run as a very small-town situation. It’s very folksy, everything is just so fantastic. It’s likely some of that will change from a standpoint of security, but that’s precisely the reason why I’m sure I’m not alone in saying I’m determined to go back.
“You can’t let these horribly tragic, terrible events dictate our world. You cannot justify cowardice. There is no explanation for it.
“I can tell you once again, above all else, I felt and continue to feel fortunate to be there, to have been there,” he concluded. “But I feel more fortunate and happy to be someone who lives in Oakville.”