Where's Steve?

Item Information

Title:
Where's Steve?
Creator:
MacLellan, Maria
Date:
April 15, 2013
Format:
Documents
Genre:
texts (documents)
Location:
Northeastern University Library
Collection (local):
Our Marathon
Series:
Public submissions
Subjects:
Boston Marathon Bombing, Boston, Mass., 2013
Places:
Massachusetts > Suffolk (county) > Boston
Link to Item:
http://hdl.handle.net/2047/D20264493
Terms of Use:
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Contact host institution for more information.
Language:
English
Notes:
Submission text: I started going to the Boston Marathon in the 70s when I was in high school. My brother Steve was at Boston College and decided to run on a whim. He ran, as I guess you call it these days, as a bandit. He made up a number and ran. He got blisters and he shoes wore out but he got marathon fever. His entered his next Boston Marathon officially, trained a bit more and bought better sneakers. I attended Boston College and looked forward to watching the Boston Marathon from the end of Heart Break Hill. I became a fan of Bill Rogers who was one of the leaders back then. Once I graduated college and started a job in RI I didn't have the opportunity to watch the Boston Marathon live for a while. Patriot's Day is not a holiday in RI. I did watch the results on the news. Then my brother Steve had a renewed ambition to run the Boston Marathon. He found out that is was MUCH harder to get an official number. But he was resourceful and found out about charities that had numbers if you agreed to fundraise. So he began training again. That's when I started my professional spectator training. My usual routine on Marathon Monday is to park at Riverside and take the T to Chestnut Hill and walk to Boston College - aka Mile 21. Then I cheer the runners on hoping desperately that I will be able to pick my brother out of the crowds in time to get a picture. When he was a toddler, he lived at 1970 Comm Ave. so I also hang out in that neighborhood so he can easily spot me. I have also have tagged along with my sister in law Pauline when she drove to different spots on the route. I don't have the same familiarity with the marathon's neighborhoods and fear closed roads and little parking, so I gladly accepted a driver. Due to having a confident, competent driver in 2012, I was able to be at the finish line for the first time. It was very crowded but very exciting and I finally got to see my brother Steve actually cross the finish line. In 2013, I decided I would try my public transportation strategy and give up my rides from Pauline. I bought an all day Charlie Card so I could get on and off the T as many times as I needed. My first stop was at Cleveland Circle. I got there in time to see the some of the lead mobility-impaired competitors. I stayed until the elite men and women zipped by and then stayed until one of the bystander's family members runner ran by. I took a photo of that group and their runner and exchanged email addresses. I knew my brother's average pace and knew I had enough time to walk up to Boston College and feel the crowd's power up there. Runners at that mile are just finishing Heart Break Hill and are exhausted but know the end is getting closer. I walked back to 1970 Comm Ave and waited for my brother. He finally came by, tired but determined to plod on the next 4 miles. After he ran on, I walked back to Cleveland Circle, snapped a few pictures of the Cleveland Circle clock and headed toward the Reservoir T stop. While I was heading there, a strange thing happened. About 2 dozen policemen on motorcycles started heading the direction opposite the marathon route. Oh oh. Something must have happened. But I did not know what. I proceded to go and get on the T heading inbound with the intent of hopefully making it to the finish line. After the trolley doors closed and the trolley squeaked off, everybody around me with cell phones started saying that something happened at the finish area. A blast. No, now another blast. I don't have internet on my cell phone so I relied on getting information from my fellow passengers. The trolley conductor kept going on the route, stopping to pick up more passengers, not making any announcement that anything had happened in Boston. Eventually, the conductor would only announce that all passengers needed to get off at Fenway and that no trolleys would be going in the underground part of the subway. I did start getting phone calls and texts from friends and family at this time. "Are you OK?" "Where r u?" I called one friend and asked her to spread the news that I was OK and that I had seen my brother Steve and calculated that with his pace, he would not have been at Mile 26.2 yet. But where was my nephew Ian?He was commissioned to take pictures during the marathon for Tufts University. I found out he was done with his photo stint and not at the finish. My sister in law Pauline had just driven about a block from the finish area and felt the blast and eventually was redirected not to continue to that area. I got off at Fenway and was a bit disoriented since I did not know that area. I walked around, saw and heard lots of sirens, and decided to just get back on the T going back to my car. I ended up driving to Lincoln MA to my brother Steve's house. I really wanted to see him in person before I drove back to RI. In my car, I scanned the radio stations for any news on the marathon explosions. It all seemed unreal and horrifying. When I got home that evening and in the week following, I reviewed my marathon pictures. Usually I post things to facebook but I did not think it appropriate to post my cheerful, fun photos at that time. I did post Steve during his run and his post run photo to show folks he was OK. One of the surprising pictures I took was of runners going by Cleveland Circle clock. The time is about 2:50pm. When I took the picture, I was focusing on the clock and the runners and the blinking Boston Marathon road sign; when I reviewed the picture, I saw all the police in the pictures with serious looks on their faces and the radios/cell phones to their ears. They must have been getting the news. For me, the 2013 Boston Marathon has not ended. I found myself reviewing my pictures - especially the ones I took of runners by Boston College. I calculated that some of them were probably at the finish line at the time of the bombings. I found myself checking their bib numbers with the BAA site to see if they had finish times. I knew my brother's marathon was postponed for a while at Mile 25. He did later run the last mile on his own and later with many of the other runners who were robbed of their finish. I came back to Boston several times since the marathon to witness the tributes and supportive messages Boston fans and supporters left at Copley square. I've walked " the last mile" a few times. I came back on the anniversary April 15, 2014. I started in Cleveland Circle since that is where I was last year. I walked part of Beacon street and witnessed a beautiful blue and yellow ribbon garden made out of daffodils and a purple-blue flower. I joined the community on Boylston St. as the rains picked up the closer it got to 2:48pm. The mood was quiet and somber as witnesses, family member and victims came by. My spot was across from one of the bomb sites where there was a wreath on birch stands with an honor guard. I could hear the bells toll, the bagpipes mourn and the soulful singing of God Bless America and the Star Spangled Banner. I could knew I could research it when I got back home. I was outraged to hear someone left a decoy backpack with a rice cooker during the anniversary! Just evil. The past few days I have been preparing for spectating at the 2014 Boston Marathon. My brother is going to run it but he has a knee injury. He feels that this year it is very important for him to participate and finish even if it takes him all day. He plans to run 4 miles and walk 1 mile for 26.2 miles. I have been exploring public transportation to strategize how to see him several times along the route. I either hope to see him at the finish line or at least where Mass Ave turns onto Hereford. I will have a cowbell, wear a Project Purple (run to support pancreatic cancer)shirt, and have a poster that says, RUN-LIMP-WALK, STEVE, RUN-LIMP-WALK!! Be Strong for Boston!
Crowdsourced submission originally received via the Our Marathon "Share Your Story" page.
Notes (historical):
Contributor Name: Maria MacLellan; Contributor Age: 53; Contributor Race: white; Contributor Gender: f; Contributor Twitter Account: miamacl; Current Location: 02876