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Item Text: i was running toward the finish line, on the right hand side of the road. I saw the first explosion. I, and other runners near me thought it was some kind of strange celebration. We kept running toward the finish line. The second explosion went off. I felt the road shake, I saw.... a horrible nightmare. The smell in the air was like nothing I've ever smelled before. I knew that a bomb had exploded and that we, the people on the street were being attacked. I was very shaken, confused and scared. I and the other runners around me had no idea which way to go. We knew we couldn't go forward, there was horror in front of us. We were afraid of additional explosions. I knew my family was behind me, somewhere near mile marker 26. The Sandy Hook Mile Marker. I headed back in that direction. At this point police cars were speeding up Boylston St. heading for the explosion sites. I couldn't hear very well. Smoke was stinging my eyes. Every time I closed my eyes I saw the explosions. My husband and my sister saw me before I saw them. They ran up to me, both were crying. They were not sure what had happened. I told them that bombs had exploded and that many, many people were injured or killed. I did not tell them what I saw. I still have a hard time processing what I saw. We left the area as quickly as possible.
Notes (acquisition):
This story was collected by the Boston Globe in the days immediately following the Boston Marathon Bombing. GlobeLab collected these anonymous stories on the Boston.com website and donated them to the Our Marathon Archive. We are grateful for this contribution, which gives insight into how Bostonians and visitors to the city understood the bombing events in their immediate aftermath.
