Local Boston Marathon Racers Return Home, Join Solidarity Run

The crescendo of two bombs detonating near the finish line of the Boston Marathon is “a sound that you’ll never forget,” Kim Mackowski said.

“You hoped it was a generator, a canon, but the smoke came pretty quick and was really thick,” the Shorewood resident said. “I couldn’t tell they were in two different locations.”

Mackowski was two blocks away from the finish line waiting to get her gear when the blasts rocked the marathon on Monday, killing three and injuring 176 people, including 17 who remain in critical condition. She said she probably knew what had happened before a lot of the runners did, but didn’t really grasp the gravity of the incident until much later.

One day later, Mackowski is happy to be back home, in Shorewood, stretching for a short sprint with about 20 fellow runners — two who were also among the thousands who ran in Boston on Monday.

The three Boston Marathoners from Shorewood and Whitefish Bay returned home just Tuesday morning and joined other local runners for a short run in solidarity with Boston — from Shorewood High School and south on to the Oak Leaf Trail. 

“You just want to do something,” Mackowski said. “I spent the morning in tears, I’m just so sad for them, and I can’t physically help them.”

As a runner, Renee Scherck-Meyer of Whitefish Bay said she felt compelled to run today, and organized the group sprint.

“I planned on doing my interval (speedwork) today and thought it would be nice to say a prayer to myself after each lap. So I just did not want to be alone, and this idea came to me," she said.

Whitefish Bay resident Igor Stevic said he usually goes for a couple-mile run after a marathon and wanted to support Boston.

He ran in Boston Monday and said he was in a medical tent, about 15 to 20 yards from the finish line, and had finished the race about 90 minutes before the bombs erupted. 

He said the scene wasn't that chaotic and people were more focused on helping those around them, than letting the fear set in. 

"People were pretty preoccupied taking care of the injured, and everyone seemed to be on a mission, and knew where they were going to go," Stevic said. 

Alec Fraser of Shorewood ran the Boston Marathon with another runner from the village, finishing about 45 minutes to an hour before the bombs exploded. He said he was one mile away, but could clearly hear the eruptions. 

Fraser’s family was sitting in the location where one of the bombs erupted, but luckily had moved when he crossed the finish line.

“We felt pretty lucky that we finished when we did,” he said.

The group decided to walk to their hotel, checking TVs in windows of storefronts to gather information about the incident they had just dodged by minutes.  

Fraser said there was a heavy police presence in the Boston airport, and is happy to be home, and able to show support and join local runners in a jog. 

"I thought it was a nice idea and a good tribute," he said.