Local Runners from Central Texas Describe Aftermath of Bombings At The Boston Marathon

Nearly 200 runners from Central Texas took part in Monday's Boston Marathon.

The annual race, which is an inspirational event for people all across the globe, was marred by tragedy Monday when twin explosions took the lives of three people, among them an 8-year-old boy, and injured more than 140.

Barbara Johnson of Copperas Cove finished the race and was only 300 feet away from the first explosion. Johnson described the ordeal during a telephone interview with the Killeen Daily Herald on Monday:

“It was scary. I heard the bomb and turned around and there was all this smoke. And then a few seconds after that there was another bomb.”

Brigette and Jerry Sparks of Harker Heights were also present when the blasts occurred. Brigette told the Herald:

“I was walking toward Boylston and everybody started running towards my way, and one person said, ‘Run for your life’, so I was running away from the direction of the finish line. I was following the crowd that was frantically running away.”

Her husband, Jerry, said he debated with himself whether he’d pace or push himself. He told the Herald if he had chosen to pace himself, he may likely have arrived just as the explosions occurred.

According to the 2013 Boston Marathon official entrants list, local Central Texas runners included Julia Perry of Harker Heights, Steven Allen and Samantha Allen of Temple, and 187 runners from the Austin area.