Amherst Runner Was at the Finish Line When Bomb Blew

Dave Salvas knew the loud explosion he heard just after he'd finished running 26.2 miles on Monday was not a celebratory explosion pretty quickly.

Salvas, of Amherst, was in Boston running the Boston Marathon unofficially, pacing a friend of his and they'd just crossed the finish line when the first of two bombs rocked Boylston Street.

"I knew when I saw the white smoke and debris flying that this wasn't something celebratory," Salvas said, adding that the first explosion left many in the area confused, looking around trying to figure out what had just happened.

He likened the sound to that of a cannon, but said he knows enough about ceremonial cannon-fire that it wouldn't produce that kind of smoke, nor would it be fired in an area with so many glass store fronts.

It wasn't until the second bomb exploded that panic set in, sending hundreds of people running away from the finish line, and leaving many others critically injured being tended to by family, race officials and medical personnel.

"I knew it was a bomb and I just decided to get out of there," Salvas said. "I just had this uneasy feeling that I don't know where the next one is or where it could be. I didn't stop for anything, I just went straight to my car."

He was able to get out of the Boston Common garage minutes before they closed it, he said.

Before he left, Salvas told his friend, Stacy Devine, to go find her family and get out of there as fast as they could. Devine, of Needham, Mass., was running on behalf of Boston Children's Hospital, Salvas said. She crossed the finish line, according to official results, at 2:42 p.m. The first bomb blew just 8 minutes later.

"Her husband and daughter had VIP tickets and were supposed to be sitting in the stands, right across from the explosion, but they were running late and weren't there yet," Salvas said.

A seasoned marathoner, Salvas has run Boston officially 18 times.

He said that the day's events won't stop him from running future marathons, and he plans to run Boston next year. He's also signed up for the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, D.C., this fall and in June he's running across the state of New Hampshire to raise money for leukemia research.

"I absolutely would run, I have no fears. What's going to happen is going to happen,” Salvas said.

He added that he doesn't know what other safety measures authorities can take other than the ones already in place. It's not like they are going to close the marathon to spectators, he said. The best he thinks they could do is bring dogs continually up and down the streets while the race is going on.

“Anywhere where people gather, they can do this,” Salvas said of the bomber. “I think [the authorities] took all the precautions they could."

"I'm just heart-sickened over this, in that this event isn't a political event. Anyone can run it ... it's not closed to anyone," he said. "I can't imagine what country could have something against the running of a marathon. The worst part of it is just to attack innocent bystanders. People were there with their families.”