A Weyburn couple, Gerry and Diana Nagy, were shaken up and a bit in shock in the aftermath of a double-explosion set off at the finish line for the historic 117th Boston Marathon on Monday.
A Weyburn couple, Gerry and Diana Nagy, were shaken up and a bit in shock in the aftermath of a double-explosion set off at the finish line for the historic 117th Boston Marathon on Monday.
Three people were killed and over 154 injured; there were about 27,000 runners in the annual marathon race. Neither of the Nagys were injured, and indeed all 20 runners from Saskatchewan were accounted for - but for about an hour and a half after the bombs went off, Gerry didn't know where Diana was.
He ran in the first wave, placing at No. 138 for his category or 3236 in total, while Diana ran in the second wave, finishing at No. 496 for her category, or 13164 overall. He was at the condo they rented on Beacon Street, and started back to the finish area when he knew Diana's race was winding up, about five blocks away from where the explosion occurred.
"That's when one of the bombs went off. She had crossed the finish line about 15 minutes before the bombs exploded, and she was about a block away," said Gerry in an interview on Monday afternoon.
"I really didn't know what it was. I started to walk down the street, and went about three blocks, and there were some people already being treated, and they were saying there were bombs. I still hadn't located Diana, and she would've been in the vicinity; it was really scary," said Gerry.
He described how officials began locking the area down as he searched for his wife, including going to where the runners picked up their clothing package for the race.
"There were cop cars, the FBI, police, helicopters going overhead, ambulances going every few minutes; it was just crazy," said Gerry of the scene he found, adding that as he walked through the area, "people were very emotional and were crying. There were people who had died for no reason, and it's very sad.
It's kind of surreal."
For Diana's part, it was equally surreal, as she spoke about walking in the direction of the finish line to watch the race, right where the bombs went off, because they were told this was a great place to watch it from.
"They were very loud," she said of the explosions, noting one followed the other within seconds. "It sounded like a cannon; I wondered if it was because there was a big celebration. The second one came right after that, just a few seconds apart."
Asked what the reaction of people around her was, Diana said, "At first, it was just disbelief. People were just wondering where it happened, what it was; then as word came out, people were panicking and crying. People didn't know where to go; there was a lot of confusion."
She added she herself didn't see any of the injured, but officials were closing off the area where the bombs went off, so she had to walk a long ways around to eventually make it back to her condo at least an hour and a half after the explosions, and Gerry was then sent a text that his wife was all right.
"They closed up the street and were shifting the people away from the area; they kept moving me down the street, and I couldn't get in touch with anybody," she said.
As she had just finished her race shortly before the explosions, she didn't have a cell with her, so Gerry wasn't able to contact her in any way to find out if she was okay.
Meantime, said Diana, people were good to her as she walked, trying to get back to her condo. "People were offering me their coat because of the marathon, most people didn't carry their cell phone."
This was her first time at the Boston Marathon, while this was Gerry's second time in the race, as he ran it in 2011. The couple arrived in Boston on Thursday to pick up their race package, and to rest up before the big race on Monday; they indicated they were to return home on Tuesday (Apr. 16).
Asked how the race was for her, Diana said, "The people are great, and it's a well-organized event. This was a terrible incident, and I feel terrible for the people who were hurt, and for their families."
"It was nice for us, to get it off the bucket list and run it, but this suretakes away any good thoughts about running the marathon," said Gerry of the event.
He noted the calls and e-mails of support from family and friends was very good to get shortly after they were both back at the condo again.
