Community Corner

Long Island Native Finished Marathon Five Minutes Before Bombings

By Charlie Breitrose

Just minutes after Watertown's Chrissy Horan crossed the finish line and prepared to collect her Boston Marathon medal she heard a boom and her thoughts turned to her parents and boyfriend.

The 34-year-old town resident estimates she finished the race 5 minutes before the first bomb went off.

"I heard the explosion and saw the smoke," Horan said. "Immediately I thought about my family. They always situated themselves in front of the Crate & Barrel (on Boylston Street). I wasn’t sure if they were making their way to finish line."

The Crate & Barrel sits near the site of the second bomb.

It took just a few minutes, but Horan said it "felt like forever" before she was reunited with her boyfriend."

My boyfriend had pushed through the runners chute and said my parents were OK," Horan said. "He was easy to spot. He was the only guy not wearing a silver Mylar jacket."

The 2013 Boston Marathon was Horan's 11th and her seventh in Boston. For most of the Boston races she has run to support the Alzheimers Association, which is based in Watertown."

As soon has I had my family and boyfriend, my next concern was how was team?" Horan said. "Were the members OK? Are their families OK?"

Not all of the 25 members of the Alzheimer's Association team had finished the race, Horan said, but all were tracked down and were safe.

A native of Carle Place, Long Island, Horan has been in Massachusetts since 2000, and in Watertown for more than 3 years. The Marathon has become an important occasion for her.

 "This one of my favorite days of the entire year," Horan said.

While she won't commit until she knows she will be healthy, Horan said she plans to run in next year's Boston Marathon."

The resolve of proving that this event can be what it was supposed to be and that can’t be taken away," Horan said. "It is such an important event for Boston, and the whole community. ... I can't see missing next year."

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