Sports

Local Runner Not Deterred by Bombings at Boston Marathon

Although her sixth running was interrupted, she plans to return next year.

Editor's note: This story first appeared on the Duluth Patch.

This year’s Boston Marathon was runner Susan Kolbinsky’s 130th marathon. She’s run the Boston Marathon six times and finished five times. Her sixth run Monday (April 15) was interrupted at 25.5 miles when officials canceled the Boston Marathon because of two explosions at the finish line.

She was about a mile short of completing the 26.2-mile marathon and didn’t hear the explosions.

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At about Mile 23, her husband had called her from home on her cell phone to tell her there had been an incident at the finish line, and the race course might be diverted. A neighbor had called him to inquire about Susan after learning about the bombings. He turned on the TV, then called Susan to see if she was OK.

“I don’t usually carry my cell phone with me when I run,” Kolbinsky said, “but it was Boston, and I wanted to take some pictures while I was running.” He kept the phone conversation light so she wouldn’t become over alarmed.

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“I felt really bad for the runners participating in the Boston Marathon for the first time who wouldn’t have the experience of crossing the finish line on Boylston Street,” Kolbinsky said. She had no idea at that time that three persons had been killed and many others injured. “I’m fine, just keep running,” she thought.

But as she continued running, she started seeing more National Guardsmen and police officers than usual between Mile 23 and 25. Two Hummers passed, then police car canine units and a fire truck. “I wasn’t really concerned at this point,” Kolbinsky said, “but what could I do but to keep running.”

She had just passed Fenway Park, crossed the overpass over the Massachusetts Turnpike, and taken a photo at Mile 25 of the Citgo sign that alerts runners that they are about a mile away from finishing. At 25.5 miles, a barricade had been erected, and officials told runners that the race had been canceled.

“There was no explanation,” Kolbinsky said. The runners were directed to a street parallel to the race course, told to follow the crowd and not allowed to go near the finish line.

The runners ended up at a park. Normally, their bags containing dry clothes are collected at the beginning of the course and bused to the finish line where runners retrieve their belongings and change, Kolbinsky said. The buses weren’t at the park as runners had been led to believe, she said.

She was shivering, and her teeth were chattering. A man, who possibly had been a spectator, saw her, took off his coat and put it around her shoulders. He told her not to worry about returning it.

“By this time, I was in tears,” Kolbinsky said. “I was emotional because the race was over. People had been hurt.”

Kolbinsky had arranged to meet Nancy Moore, a friend who lives in Boston, on nearby Hereford Street after the race because the finish line on Boylston Street is always so congested. Cell phone service had been cut off, but Kolbinsky was able to text her current location to Moore, who told her to wait there.

Moore got the call while she was riding a “T’ subway train on the way to meet Kolblinsky. She had difficulty getting to Kolblinsky, but eventually found her. They were allowed to board a bus transporting runners.

After they were dropped off, they started walking toward the finish line. A police officer took them around a barricade and helped Kolbinsky find the bus containing her bag, and she was able to change into dry clothes. Kolbinsky and Moore then made their way to the nearest “T” station and caught a train back to Moore’s condo.

“I didn’t realize the scope of the situation until I got back to my friend’s condo and turned on the TV,” Kolbinsky said. Her reaction: “Disbelief.”

She flew back to Atlanta from Logan International Airport in Boston at noon Tuesday, and her husband Bruce met her at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport when she arrived Tuesday afternoon. At home she was greeted by her son Keenan, 16, a junior at Duluth High School, and the family’s two excited Labrador retrievers, Griffin and Finley.

She and Bruce have lived in the area for 25 years. Kolbinsky teaches at Mt. Carmel Methodist Church Preschool in Peachtree Corners two days a week. She works for Olympic runner Jeff Galloway three days a week. His company, Galloway Productions, organizes races and training programs.

Kolbinsky has run marathons in all 50 states. She’s planning to run in her 24th consecutive Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta July 4.

As for the Boston Marathon: “I can’t let some crazy, wacko person take away something I like to do,” she said. “I’ll be back next year!”

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