Local Runner in Boston Reacts to Attack

The mood went from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows in Boston Monday when bomb blasts ripped through the Boston Marathon, said Jacob Driggers, a Daniel Island runner who ran in the marathon.

"When you finish any race, particularly the Boston Marathon, because it's the World Series of marathons, you're naturally excited to finish," Driggers said Monday in a call from his Boston hotel room.

Driggers was one of 16 runners from the Charleston area who participated in the Boston Marathon Monday. Everyone was accounted for and safe, according to reports.

"We planned to celebrate tonight, but now it's just beyond somber here. Everyone is so sad. It's a total contrast of moods."

Driggers said he didn't notice the bomb blasts, and he was complying with officials' requests that he and other runners stay in their hotel rooms.

"I had finished about 45 minutes before the blasts, and I must have been walking back to my hotel room when it happened," Driggers said. "I don't know why, but I didn't hear anything."

He turned on TV and was browsing the Internet when he learned of the attack.

"I was trying to find out who won the race when I saw it," Driggers said. "It's just eery to see that. The finish line, aside from all the police and damage, looks just like it did when I crossed it."

Follow the latest on the attack on Back Bay (Ma.) Patch.