More than a dozen Mid-Missouri runners took part in the Boston Marathon today that was marred by bombings, with reports of two deaths and almost two dozen injured.
According to the Marathon’s online runner tracker, 12 of the 16 runners from Columbia registered for the race finished, and four did not. However, two of those runners didn't register a time at any of the checkpoints in the race, which could mean they did not run in the race at all. The race was also stopped shortly after the explosions a little over four hours into the race so it's possible the runners that did not finish were diverted from the finish line by police. One Columbia runner, John Louie, finished just 20 seconds before the bomb went off, according to the site.
“Well we know that Ann Severs and the gals that she was running with these in Boston are all OK," said Lara Floria with Wilson's Total Fitness in Columbia. "They’ve all reported back and they’re all OK. She hasn’t been able to make phone calls yet, I know the cell towers must just be bombarded.”
Ann Severs was one of five local runners that went to Boston to run together.
The explosions erupted just before the finish line and largely affected spectators on the sidelines. Wilsons’ Total Fitness in Columbia says a group of runners from the gym made the trip to Boston for the marathon, andin a Facebook post, said that all of those runners are safe and accounted for. There was also one runner from Jefferson City and one from Fulton that both crossed the finish line before the blast. One runner from Kirksville was on pace to finish well after the explosion happened.
