Police officers react to the second explosion near the finish line of the Boston Marathon on Monday. Two bombs exploded seconds apart, creating a bloody and chaotic scene about four hours into the race. Photo by John Tlumacki, The Boston Globe
Hundreds of people watched Cedar Park resident Craig Potts as he and other runners crossed the finish line at the Boston Marathon Monday afternoon. Much like past marathons, Potts noticed the sidelines filled with people cheering him on as he completed the 26.2-mile trek through Boston’s streets.
That’s when the first bomb exploded.
“The thing that I noticed most of all was the shockwave that came off it,” Potts said. “I really felt it just as much as I heard it.”
An eerie silence followed as runners looked around, trying to comprehend what happened. Potts noticed a wall of dark smoke rising from one of the buildings.
“A few seconds before that, I’d seen people around there, so I knew it was crowded,” he said.
Potts, much like tens of thousands across the country, eagerly anticipates the annual Boston Marathon, which is the country’s oldest and most well-known racing event. But the race this year became a sudden scene of horror as two bombs detonated near the finish line, killing three and injuring almost 200 people.
Officials believe two homemade pressure cookers filled with explosives caused the damage. Metal shards, nails and ball bearings were mixed inside of the cookers to inflict the maximum amount of injury, officials said. As of Wednesday afternoon, reports state officials are on the verge of arresting a suspect.
Before the bombings, Potts said this year’s marathon was excellent, even better than last year. Temperatures were lower this year, compared to last year’s temperatures which ranged in the 90s.
“The crowds were just amazing,” he said. “Boston, that’s one of the things that makes it such a fascinating race to run, because of the crowd support.”
Potts began the race with a strong stride, despite having an upper respiratory illness that made breathing difficult. By the second half, the illness wore on him.
“Which is kind of ironic, because normally I would have finished at least 45 minutes before the bombs went off,” he said. “But because I was feeling bad, it slowed me way down. So the timing was poor in that respect.”
Most of Potts’ running buddies were well ahead, finishing the race more than a half-hour before the bombings took place. Potts was 50 feet away from the explosions.
A shockwave first hit Potts, immediately followed by a percussion-like boom. Potts turned around to find other runners looking around. Several seconds of silence followed with a range of screams, crying and yelling as police officers began to take action.
“There were a lot of medical people on site that started running toward where the explosions were,” he said. “There were people going in all sorts of directions, so it was very chaotic.”
Something hit Potts in the back but only left a bruise. Others were not so lucky, as Potts heard the screams emanate from the area.
Officers waved runners past the finish line, not knowing if more bombs were set to explode. Runners next to Potts were asking what to do and where to go.
“I was telling them, the best thing we need to do is stay in the middle of the street if we can. Because we fully expected to hear another explosion,” he said.
Disheveled from the explosions and still suffering from the respiratory illness, Potts began the 4-mile walk back to his hotel near the MIT campus. The city had shut down with the threat of future bombings, leaving the subways closed and no transportation in sight.
Monday night, Potts said he had time to process what had happened.
“It made me realize what really a gift life is and something we shouldn’t take for granted,” he said. “Because in a blink of an eye, it can be gone.”
Now back home in Cedar Park, Potts said the bombings will not deter him from doing what he loves.
“I think I can safely speak for a lot of people in my running community that in no way is this going to impact us,” he said. “We are ready to go, and we won’t let the bad guys win in this thing.”
