Avon Boston Marathoner: 'I’m Fully Planning to Run Boston Next Year' Despite Monday Explosions

Avon Boston Marathoner Sarah Wallace was back at her hotel a few blocks from the finish line when she got a text from friend and fellow Avon runner Fernanda Jacobs checking in on how she finished.

“She said, 'My hamstring was bothering me and there were two explosions,'" Wallace said.

At first the message seemed cryptic and didn't sink in. 

But soon she saw what Jacobs meant. Many runners back at the hotel watched the news coverage of the explosions near the finish line. 

Eight-year-old Martin Richard of Dorchester, Krystle Campbell, a 29-year-old Medford native, and a Boston University graduate died in the bombings and more than 170 were injured, Back Bay Patch reports. For the latest updates on the investigation, click on the link provided.

“Our hotel was pretty much in lock down," Jacobs said. "You couldn’t get in without a key."

Eating dinner in the hotel restaurant downstairs was not the normal festive atmosphere after a Boston, Wallace said. The room was nearly silent as people continued watching the television coverage.

Jacobs had finished the race about 10 minutes before the explosion and saw the smoke and flames as she was getting her medal. A Connecticut man who rode on the bus with Wallace and the Hartford Track Club to run was hit by shrapnel during the blasts, Wallace said, but was safe. 

Near Boston Common, Avon marathoners Maddy Yopchick and Kimberly Mancini sat with their families in a Dunkin' Donuts when the bombs went off.

“We feel so fortunate our families were safe," Mancini said. 

They had finished their "last Boston" 45 minutes before and didn't hear the explosion. 

“We kind of saw people walking by, running by in a panic and we knew something had happened," Mancini said. “I just felt bad for my kids because they were definitely upset."

Mancini is debating whether to do another big marathon.

“I’m supposed to run New York in the fall, but I’m not so sure I want to do that now," she said. 

Mancini and her husband assured their kids they were okay. Getting through Boston was a challenge, but they connected with her brother-in-law and stayed overnight. Getting back home to Avon Tuesday was a relief, she said.

“It felt good to be home and out of the city," Mancini said. "It was a really sad day for all of us.”

Runners can check in bags, which are stored securely in buses during the marathon. Wallace described the "wall" of runners that stretches beyond the finish line for about three blocks as they get their medals, water, food and belongings. She said that if one of the explosions had gone off beyond the finish line, there could have been more casualties. 

While many runners who were detoured after the explosion did not have their personal items on them to contact loved ones, Mancini and Yopchick did. Wallace, who does not normally run with her phone, chose to on Monday and she said she might do that for the big races from now on. 

Cell phones signals were down for security reasons for awhile, but texting was intermittent and she received many messages, Wallace confirmed. She asked her husband to post a message on her Facebook account letting everyone know she was safe.

She said that she was happy her husband and kids stayed home so that they were out of harm's way. 

Wallace is running Big Sur in California with her husband on April 28. As for another Boston?

“I’m fully planning to run Boston next year," Wallace said. "I’m not going to let some coward ruin this for me."