As the terror unfolded in Boston on Monday afternoon at the Boston Marathon, shock waves rippled throughout the country.
A little more than four hours into the annual Patriots Day race, two blasts killed three people and injured at least 144 people. Runners, spectators and race day volunteers were hurt, some critically.
In Centre County, families reached out to loved ones who were either running in the race or watching it.
Members of the Nittany Valley Running Club were at the marathon to raise money for Centre Volunteers in Medicine. George Lesieutre was one of 15 members of the NVRC in Boston for the event. It was his seventh Boston Marathon. He had already finished the race and was at his friend’s house in Arlington, Mass., when the explosions occurred.
Like many around the country, Lesieutre found out about the attack by turning on the television. His reaction?
“Shock. It was a senseless and tragic end to what should have been a great day for so many people,” said Lesieutre, the head of the aerospace engineering department at Penn State. “What kind of person would do something like this?”
In addition to Lesieutre, there were 14 other runners on the CVIM team: Tom Cali, Robert Crowe, Sarah Farrant, Aroline Hanson, Marty Klanchar, Allison Machnicki, Andrew Maguire, Lauren Philbrook, Michael Renz, Jeff Smucker, Elizabeth Soroka, Michael Sullivan, Steve Williams and Yu Zhang.
None of the CVIM runners were hurt in the blasts.
Machnicki is a graduate student at Penn State. After finishing her first Boston Marathon, she was well out of the area, meeting with her family when the bombs detonated.
“I was confused,” Machnicki explained. “I had heard the explosion but thought maybe it was a cannon or fireworks for the race.”
She was on her way to her car when police told her what happened.
“My friend and I were trying to find the car and got turned around by police and told there was an explosion. There was a runner I ran the first half with and I really wanted to know if he was okay since he was behind me,” Machnicki said.
Not everyone from Centre County running in the race was affiliated with CVIM.
Penn State’s cross country club team sent several runners. Ted Evans, Ian Knecht and Thomas Rudowsky are current students who took part in the race. There were also several alumni runners: Emily Fogel, Britt Kern, Kelsey Markham, Ben Neito, Brian Petraco and Shelley White.
Evans is a sophomore at Penn State who was running in his first Boston Marathon. He qualified in October. He had already exited the family meeting area when the explosions occurred.
“Concern was my first reaction. I was afraid for my family’s safety but also for the people at the finish,” Evans said. “Disappointment is also a strong emotion right now. This was a great weekend up until the bombing. Many people train months for an event like this so it’s sad to see it end this way.”
Once word spread of what had happened, there was panic, Evans said.
“There were people running and all of the spectators were gone,” he said. “Many people don’t run with their phones, so I can imagine contacting family members was hectic and stressful.”
According to the Nittany Valley Running Club, all of its members who were taking part in the marathon were unhurt.
Machnicki said that she made a point to check in with everyone from the club.
“I found my friend who had traveled with me right away. I called the other NVRC people a few hours later,” she said.
According to Leisieutre, it was like any other Boston Marathon at the start.
“(It was) the usual. People getting ready to run and having a little fun with their friends. Deciding what to wear, what to stow. Sunscreen? Gel to eat? Waiting in line for the porta-potties,” he explained.
The moments he recalled, unfortunately, aren’t the ones that will be remembered. Like the Oklahoma City bombing or the Sept. 11 attacks, April 15 is a day no one in the United States will soon forget.
