Fenway Marathoner: 'I'm Just Glad Family and Friends are OK'

Marathoner Matt Carlson was rounding the Beacon Street bridge over the Mass. Pike when he got the news. He had stopped running to take a photo of the incredible view of the Citgo Sign, the Hancock Tower and Fenway Park when a phone call interupted him. 

"One of my friends called and asked if I was okay, and I said, 'Yes, I'm just running slower than normal,'" he said. That's when they said, "No, something happened."

Carlson said he looked over to his right and didn't see smoke or sirens and everyone was still cheering, so he did what he'd been doing for the last several hours: He continued running. 

"I ran through Kenmore past the one mile block left to go and was stopped by the overpass at Charlesgate," he said. "That's when I looked at my phone and saw I had 27 text messages asking if I was okay."

Carlson said that Kenmore Square was completely blocked with runners, and at that point, he wasn't able to get a phone call out because phone lines were jammed due to overuse of the airwaves in the area. He decided to walk from Kenmore back a few blocks to his apartment.

"I was able to get in touch with my family, so I knew everyone was okay," he said, noting they had been waiting by the Apple Store on Boylston and weren't directly at the finish line. 

Even though he'd spent months training, Carlson said he wasn't upset he didn't get to techincally finish the race.

"If I had come 25 miles, I had already finished the race in my mind," he said. "I felt like I had accomplished something and the only thing I was concerned about was my family and friends. I'm so glad everyone I know is okay," he said. 

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