Boston Marathon Runners reflect on 2013 Bombing
For elite runners, the Boston Marathon is the race to run. This year will be Leonard Vergunst’s ninth time running the course he says is like no other.
"When you get on Boylston Street, the last quarter mile of that race is just like going into a football stadium. I mean the roar of the crowd and you’re like wow they’re cheering for me. And when you cross the finish line, it’s such a sense of accomplishment."
Both Vergunst and fellow coast runner Tom Pfleeger had finished running in 2013 when the bombs went off, killing three and injuring more than 260.
"We had no idea who was doing it and if there were more bombs around and there were just people shoulder to shoulder in the street and on the sidewalk”, said Pfleeger.
If jurors convict bomber, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, they will have to choose whether to sentence him to life in prison or death. Pfleeger, who hadn’t planned on running again, returned to race again in 2014 refusing to let the bombings be his last memory of The Boston Marathon.
"Just to prove the point that things like that aren’t going to stop us from living our lives and doing the things that we love to do”, said Pfleeger
But Pfeegler isn’t done yet; he along with Vergunst and five other coast runners will be shipping up to Boston in two weeks for the 119th running of The Boston Marathon.
"It’s almost like a Mardi Gras parade. Everybody’s just yelling and cheering for you and it just gets you pumped up all the way to the finish line. It’s just a great experience."
"When you get on Boylston Street, the last quarter mile of that race is just like going into a football stadium. I mean the roar of the crowd and you’re like wow they’re cheering for me. And when you cross the finish line, it’s such a sense of accomplishment."
Both Vergunst and fellow coast runner Tom Pfleeger had finished running in 2013 when the bombs went off, killing three and injuring more than 260.
"We had no idea who was doing it and if there were more bombs around and there were just people shoulder to shoulder in the street and on the sidewalk”, said Pfleeger.
If jurors convict bomber, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, they will have to choose whether to sentence him to life in prison or death. Pfleeger, who hadn’t planned on running again, returned to race again in 2014 refusing to let the bombings be his last memory of The Boston Marathon.
"Just to prove the point that things like that aren’t going to stop us from living our lives and doing the things that we love to do”, said Pfleeger
But Pfeegler isn’t done yet; he along with Vergunst and five other coast runners will be shipping up to Boston in two weeks for the 119th running of The Boston Marathon.
"It’s almost like a Mardi Gras parade. Everybody’s just yelling and cheering for you and it just gets you pumped up all the way to the finish line. It’s just a great experience."
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