Windsor runners miss Boston bombs by minutes, blocks

Several marathon runners from the Windsor area crossed the finish line at the Boston Marathon, minutes before a pair of explosions killed three and injured more than 100 Monday.

A runner originally from the Windsor area crossed the finish line 20 minutes before the pair of explosions happened within seconds of each other.  Another Windsor-area runner was a block away from the finish line when the explosions began.

Dan Gadoury had just finished his race and was walking back to the finish-line area when he heard a sound he described as a canon. He said thousands of people began to stream away from the finish line.

It's just really unfortunate.  With Patriot's Day, it's a holiday here," Gadoury said. "This could happen at any sporting event, really. With tens of thousands of people gathered in an area, I mean, it's sad, really sad to see."

Gadoury said the atmosphere in Boston is very subdued.

No Canadians hurt

Gadoury went to a hotel and started watching news reports and monitoring social media to check on the well being of other Windsor runners. No Canadians were injured in the explosions.

Windsorite Mike Rajki was at the race.  He posted a message to his Facebook page.

"Just letting everyone know that Tiffanie and I are ok," it read.

Ashley Kellam of Amherstburg was a member of the University of Windsor track team and graduated in 2011.  She's now a medical student at McMaster University.

It was Kellam's first time at the Boston Marathon.

"[It's] such a great event that everyone is really excited about," she said.  "Then it has to end so awful."

She started the race at 10 a.m. and finished just after 1 p.m.

"By the time we were out of there," said Kellam, "it was about 20 minutes or so before the explosions actually happened.  We were back in the hotel room and saw it on the news."

Kellam, who was in Boston with her parents, called family and friends back home immediately to let people know she was safe. 

She said she had trouble imagining the scene at the finish line.

"The streets are packed for the last three or four miles," Kellam said.  "There would definitely have been a lot of people down there [at the finish line].  There's a lot of people finishing and a lot of people still on the course that would have had to stop."

Kellam praised first responders and volunteers for their help.

"I think the volunteers and everyone there did a really good job. There's a lot of medical people, too, at the finish line and firefighters and police," she said. "They seemed to really grab control of the situation. It's just unfortunate. It's such a great event that everyone's really excited about, and then at the end, so awful."

Other race organizers affected

Chris Uszynski, a race organizer and running instructor in Windsor, told CBC Windsor that Boston Marathon director Dave McGillivray is one of the best in the business.  

"Between him and the Boston Athletic Association, and the Boston Police Department, and their entire medical staff, there's no doubt that whatever the issue was it was contained," Uszynski said.  "Those people [were] getting the best medical care they could ever get."

The director of the Detroit Marathon, Doug Kurtis, said his wife was in Boston, running the race and had just crossed the finish line when the explosions happened.

"She turned around, could see it happening in the crowd and people who were cheering for her and saying good luck and congratulations, she saw people getting hurt," Kurtis said.

Kurtis said the Detroit Marathon has a lower profile than the one in Boston, so he does not see it as a target for terrorism.