Williams professor shares marathon first-hand account

WILLIAMSTOWN – Longtime Williams Professor Henry W. Art was running in the Boston Marathon when tragedy struck.

“When the explosion hit, I had less than a mile to go,” Dr. Art said when contacted by The Beacon.

Dr. Art said he didn’t hear the bombs go off and didn’t realize anything had happened until the police ushered him and the other runners off the course, two-tenths of a mile from the finish.

“They just stopped us and told us there’d been two explosions at the finish line,” said Dr. Art, adding he and the other runners were appreciative that the safety of the public and the runners were foremost in the minds of the first responders.

Within 15 minutes of the stoppage, Dr. Art said Boston Athletic Association (BAA) representatives were there to explain the situation. Runners shared cell phones to communicate with their friends and relatives, but soon cell service was turned off as a precautionary measure against further detonations.

Many streets, as well as part of the T, were closed due to the emergency response and subsequent investigation, but Dr. Art was eventually able to walk back to his sister-in-law’s house in Brookline. Both Dr. Art and the other runners from Williamstown were physically unharmed by the day’s events.

“It’s just such a tragedy, mostly…for the families who were just out there supporting runners,” said Dr. Art, noting most of the victims were spectators and a number had lost limbs. “It’s heart wrenching.”

This year’s Boston Marathon was Dr. Art’s 56th marathon and 13th Boston Marathon. Dr. Art described the Boston Marathon as a special race.

“Up to that instance, there was just enthusiasm and joy,” said Dr. Art. “My prayers go out to the families there.”

Posted by Bera B. Dunau on April 18, 2013. Filed under Community News,News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry