2013 - "Though in a crowd of stunned runners and spectators, I felt alone"

Jimmy Johnson

After months of training, my wife and I had arrived at the marathon event of the year, the 2013 Boston Marathon. We started together in Wave 3, Corral 6, running for an American Medical Athletic Association charity. In four hours our day would drastically change.

A knee injury forced me to slow my pace and allowed me to just enjoy the scenery, the cool weather and cheering fans along the legendary Hopkinton to Boston course. Little did I know, had I slowed down another ten minutes, I would have been directly in front of the explosions.

I had just received my finisher’s medal when I heard and felt the first blast.

No one knew what was happening. Some thought the explosions were planned events, such as cannons being fired to celebrate Patriots’ Day. Several minutes later, the fear in the back of my mind was confirmed when the ambulances began pouring in. Not wanting any lasting memory of the event I was witnessing, I resisted taking any photographs.