Milton Runner Shares How 'Great Day' was Ruined by Boston Bombing

Monday was a perfect day for a first time marathoner like Ami Joiner. She raised over $8,000 for Boston Children's Hospital, the weather was ideal and she completed the 26.2 mile course.

But when two bombs detonated at the finish line, injuring over 170 people and killing three, everything changed.

"It was such a great day until that moment," said Joiner.

Joiner, the mother of Mayu, 11, and Miwa, 13, ran and fundraised for Children's Hospital in honor of her eldest daughter. At age three, Miwa was diagnosed with Kawasaki Disease, an inflammation of blood vessels that can lead to acquired heart disease in children. 

She was diagnosed and received initial treatment at a New York hospital by a Boston Children's Hospital trained physician. Miwa received her aftercare at Children's and is now healthy and thriving.

Joiner finished the Boston Marathon at 2:27 p.m., 23 minutes before the first explosion. She collapsed from exhaustion and went to the medical tent, just before the doctors and nurses treating cramps and fatigue transformed the facility into a triage for bombing victims.

By 2:50 p.m., the Milton mother of two was in the Weston Hotel and didn't even hear the blasts. Her husband and two children, however, were a block and a half away from the explosions and witnessed some of the devastation.

Joiner said her younger daughter was especially upset by what she saw. "With this being so in her face, I'm concerned how she'll deal with it," Joiner said.

The Boston Marathon was not Joiner's first attempt to complete a marathon. She was registered to compete in the New York Marathon that was canceled this year after Hurricane Sandy struck the east coast. Despite the cancellation, Joiner ran 26.2 miles in Central Park.

While Joiner ran this year's Boston Marathon with a charity number, she was striving to qualify for the 2014 event. She missed the qualifying time by just 54 seconds. Joiner said none of that mattered between the panic of being separated from her family after the explosions and the joy of being reunited with them later in the hotel.

Read more about Ami Joiner and the Boston Children's Hospital team here www.milesformiracles.org/boston/runamirun.