An athlete from Northampton finished the Boston Marathon just over an hour before the bomb explosions that left three dead and dozens injured.
Mike Kendall, a race director with Wootton Road Runners, finished the race about an hour and 20 minutes before the explosions near the finish line yesterday
Mr Kendall tweeted last night “My thoughts are with @bostonmarathon after explosions, 2 dead and 22 injuries after such a good day with volunteers, runners and crowds.”
On Saturday Mr Kendall, who is the chairman of governors at Northgate School in Kingsthorpe, updated his Twitter account ahead of his trip to Boston: “At #heathrow on way to @bostonmarathon really excited. Race on Monday, feeling good, must relax;)”
As race director for Wootton Road Runners, Mr Kendall organises the successful running of the Club Blisworth Friday 5 Series and the cross country events held by the club as part of the Three Counties Cross Country League.
Other Northamptonshire runners at the event included Mark Heycock from Daventry and his fiancee Melanie Cotton.
Mr Heycock’s boss at Campbells Showroom estate agents, Paul Campbell, said Mr Heycock was safe and understood Miss Cotton was also fine.
He said: “He was about a kilometre away when the explosion happened but we were a little bit nervous for about an hour until we got an email from him.
“We’ve had an incredible number of people coming in and ringing us this morning asking if we’d had any news from Mark. They knew he was doing the run and everyone has been relieved.”
Horrifying images of injured spectators and blood-splattered pavements were caught as television cameras broadcast footage of the explosions.
Participants were also seen lying on the ground as the impact tore through the finish line, sending smoke and debris soaring into the air.
The FBI said it was leading a “potential terrorism investigation” by the city’s joint terrorism taskforce into the twin explosions. But reports of a suspect being held at a city hospital were dismissed by Ed Davis, Boston’s Police Commissioner, who told a press conference that no suspect had been arrested.
In a televised address, US President Barack Obama said those responsible will feel the “full weight of justice”.
Speaking from the White House, he paid tribute to those who helped wounded runners and spectators, saying: “The American people will say a prayer for Boston tonight, and Michelle and I send our deepest thoughts and prayers to the families of the victims in the wake of this senseless loss.
“We don’t yet have all the answers but we do know that multiple people have been wounded, some gravely, in explosions at the Boston Marathon.”