Local man recounts explosions after Boston Marathon

Among the thousands of runners participating in the Boston Marathon on Monday was Southeast Missouri State University provost Dr. Ron Rosati.

"It was a wonderful experience, until the very end," he said.

Rosati crossed the finish line seconds before the first bomb exploded. By the time the second bomb went off about 10 seconds later, Rosati said he was about 50 yards away.

"I thought it was a cannon blast," he said. "We had no idea. We thought maybe a transformer blew out or something, but once we saw the dust rising, we realized what it was."

Panic ensued, he said, as hundreds of runners around him began to sprint from the finish line in fear of a third explosion.

"We're all sore and tired, I mean, we just ran 26 miles," Rosati said. "But people were still jumping over barricades and running down the street away from the finish line."

Rosati said he was in Boston with locals Joe Windeknecht and Steve Schmittzehe, who also were unhurt.

He said police and event organizers immediately sprang into action to control the crowd. Even military members who were running in the race ran toward the bomb site to help, Rosati said.

After he made the one-mile walk back to his hotel room -- no cabs were running in that part of town and all the subways were shut down -- Rosati said the entire city "seemed on edge."

"I tried to walk into a coffee shop to get some coffee before I went up to my room, and even they were closing," he said. "All the shops seemed to be closing. They were worried about their employees getting home."

Rosati said there was a strong police presence in the area, and officers worked quickly to help spectators and runners, even those who had not yet completed the race.

"The police quickly cleared the area, which isn't an easy thing to do, considering about 23,000 people were running in the marathon," he said. "And I also understand there were about 7,000 people who didn't finish that police had to direct elsewhere."

This was Rosati's first time participating in the Boston Marathon. He called the incident "tragic," and "a mar on such a wonderful event."

Kim Kelpe, who co-owns the Missouri Running Co. with her husband Bryan Kelpe, said they'd heard from the five local people she and her husband know who were at the marathon, and all of them were unhurt.

Cape Girardeau Central junior and senior high school's orchestra teacher also ran in the marathon.

Reports from the Boston Police Department said three people died and more than 140 suffered injuries as of Tuesday morning from the two blasts at the finish line.

srinehart@semissourian.com

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Pertinent address:

Boston, Mass.