Beaudreau Recalls 'Crazy Day' at Boston Marathon

Get the latest updates on the marathon bombings from Patch sites in the Boston area.

There was a lot of relief Monday when friends were able to report that former Gwinnett County District 3 Commissioner Mike Beaudreau had finished the Boston Marathon and was safe. Beaudreau said it was actually a close call. He and a friend were about a block away, headed back to the transit station, when the explosions occurred.

See also:

• Gwinnett participants in the Boston Marathon
• Snellville paralympian recalls his experience after race
• Big Peach Stores Hold Mile of Silence

"It was a crazy, crazy day," Beaudreau said from his Boston hotel room Monday night. "I had finished the race about an hour and a half, two hours ahead of that. We were headed to the transit station and were actually going toward the finish line. I stopped and asked how to get there and were told we were headed the wrong way. So we turned around - thank God. About five minutes later - boom."

Beaudreau said it sounded like something had been dropped - first one and then the second one, but they headed to the transit station, unaware that anything was going on.

"We didn’t see anything and to be truthful, we didn't hear a lot of sirens – thought it was a natural gas explosion or something really heavy had dropped," Beaudreau said. "It wasn't until we were in the transit station that we got word."

That word, Beaudreau said, came from people here in Georgia.

"I was getting texted from people watching live feed, otherwise I wouldn't have known," Beaudreau said, adding it was such a sad end to what had been a really exciting day for him. "This was my first time in Boston and I was so excited to be here. The volunteers were so supportive - it was unreal. They were yelling for me. I finished 3:04 – just over 3 hours. I was real excited about it and I was as tired as all get out and the volunteers there at the end - they were just so great. All my thoughts are frankly with those volunteers. My heart aches because I am afraid some of my new friends, those volunteers, would have been there - at the finish line. I'm sure some of them would have been those who were hurt."

-- Read more on Loganville-Grayson Patch.

Visit this website to check up on loved ones who ran the Boston Marathon, or call 617-635-4500.

The American Red Cross Safe and Well site has been activated.