Chelmsford Runner: 'I Don't Care If I Have to Crawl, I Will Be in the Boston Marathon Next Year'

Thousands of runners at the Boston Marathon didn't get to finish their race this year due to the bombings that took three lives and injured countless others.

Chelmsford's James Sullivan was not one of those runners, but for him, the finish was only the beginning.

With a time just over 2 1/2 hours, Sullivan was Chelmsford's fastest runner, and the 245th fastest among the thousands in the race overall.

By the time the blast happened, he was resting at the Park Plaza Hotel, the race was a distant memory. After the blast though, Sullivan found himself in a race to find his pregnant wife Colleen, who had been cheering him on at the 25 mile mark.

"I couldn't get a hold of her because they shut down cell service, but there were were all these texts intermittently coming in," he said. "It was a scary moment."

Colleen had been on the T heading to the hotel when all trains were diverted to North Station. When James found out, he rented a bicycle and biked several miles along with a fellow runner.

"It's not easy for her to walk a few miles, so I wanted to get to her," he said.  F

From there, couple was able to get back to Chelmsford a few hours later.

Sullivan runs in a few marathons each year, and says he always saves his best effort for Boston, but after what happened this year, he thinks next year's edition will be particularly special for him.

"I'm running that race next year," he said. "I don't care if I have to crawl it. I'll be back next year."