Redmond ‘Marathon Mom’ back from Boston

A Central Oregon runner who finished the Boston marathon minutes before two bombs went off Monday is back home in Redmond.

It was an emotional moment for Jennifer Myers when she crossed the finish line of the prestigious race on Monday.

“You do so much build-up for that, and you turn that corner and you see it — it’s waterworks,” Myers said Friday.

Her marathon started out just like the other five she’s done before. Four hours after she began, the first explosion ripped through a crowd of people.

“When we first heard it, we all just looked at each other,” Myers said. “You always have that pause where you wonder what it could be. You know it’s a big event with lots of people.”

She says the group she was with thought at first it was something from a nearby construction site.

“Then we heard the second one go off,” Myers said. “That was definitely a little bit more alarming — that’s when police just started flying by. They had panicked looks in their faces.”

After living through a nightmare, Myers says she hopes some day she’ll return to Boston, to run for those who lost their lives.

“I think that people should keep running,” Myers said. “I’m going to keep running. I’m going to keep racing. I’m not going to let someone instill fear in me and keep me from doing the things I love to do.”