The Boston Marathon bombing was a tragedy that affected  Boston and its residents. However, it also hit close to home.

Speech pathologist Mr. Colin Kane and sophomore Mike McDermott were both at the Boston Marathon with their respective families.

Mr. Kane recounted his ordeal: “When the explosions happened, I was running the marathon and was stopped by race officials, along with over a thousand other runners at Mile 25.7. When the other runners and myself were informed about what had happened at the finish line, I was standing with the runners as well as spectators. Spectators had begun walking down onto the racecourse to give runners water bottles, lend them a coat to warm up or let people borrow a cell phone to attempt to call friends or family.”

“My first thought when we were told what had happened was whether or not my wife was safe. As the last I knew, she was waiting for me at the finish line. I then began thinking how I might find her. A young lady there was kind enough to let me use her cell phone to call my wife but cell phones were not working as police had shut down all cell phone signals around the city so I was unable to reach her. All the runners were held in one place for about an hour and then we were told the race was over and were directed by race officials and Boston police officers around the finish line to attempt to get us back to our belongings.”

“After walking for several blocks, [all the] runners found [that] we had to make our own way to find friends and family who were waiting for us, as police and emergency personnel were concentrated at the finish line. I walked with another runner who I was familiar with for several blocks and then we split up to find family members who were waiting for us. I eventually walked to the corner of Commonwealth and Dartmouth and residents there were kind enough to lend me their cell phone. I called my wife, she answered, we each told the other we were safe and unhurt, and she agreed to meet me where I was, as it was getting difficult for me to walk distances after having run about 26 miles and walked for another mile around the finish line.”

“The family who lent me their cell phone graciously invited me into their home to warm up, eat and drink, and to use the bathroom. I declined, but thanked them for their hospitality. I saw other runners’ tearful reunions with family and loved ones. As I waited, a young man in his 20’s asked if I wanted his coat to stay warm while I waited, which I thanked him for, but again declined. Eventually, my wife and our friend met me and we had an emotional reunion of our own. We then walked to the train station, waited an hour to catch a train out of the city as the station was full of security and police and no one was allowed on the train platforms until their train had arrived for security reasons. We then went back to our friends home in Walpole and drove home that night.”

“The experience demonstrated to me, even in the event of a catastrophe, how people’s humanity and common decency to help their fellow man shines through when tragedies befall. It also reminded me to cherish every moment with friends and family as I can never truly know when others or myself may no longer be here.”

Senior Ali McDermott, sister of Mike McDermott talked about how she felt when she found the news that her brother and father were in the middle of tragedy: “I was hanging out at home and my dad called me and asked me to look on the news. I could hardly hear him because there were really loud sirens in the background. Then, he told me that he had seen the bombs go off. He told us that he and Michael had to stay in Boston and keep their phones off just in case there were other bombs around. It was so frightening to think my family [had] taken part in a tragedy when normally I’d just hear about these things on TV and not have it hit home too hard. I never thought I would be in a situation where my brother and father were in danger and could have been seriously injured or killed”.