Photo by Amy Cilli
Team Eastern runner: Lauren Huffman of Branchville, Laura DeLea of Sparta, Jeremy Scheid of Sparta, Justin Schiedof Sparta, Brendan McDonough of Sparta, Billy Washerof Ogdensburg, Bill Bosmann of Sparta, George McDonough of Sparta and Paul Meyer.
SPARTA — With each step, Karl Fenske and his girlfriend Julia Scales raced past hundreds of cheering fans and inched closer to the finish line of the Boston Marathon. They were 25 yards away from completing the 26.2 mile race when the first of two pressure cooker bombs explode on Boylston Street on April 15, 2013.
When the explosion occured Fenske and Scales were running on the other side of the street.
Fenske knew what it was right away.
“I knew it was a bomb, I knew the thing went off and then I saw body parts and people screaming and smelled the cordit,” Fenske said. “So I knew it was not part of the celebration. “I spun (Scales) around so she wouldn’t see the stuff I was seeing. There was a metal barricade to our right and jumped over that and ran into an alcove, a building hallway and huddled with another runner.”
Getting back to their car and escaping the scene was an ordeal.
“It was just the law of the jungle,” Fenske recalled. “There were good parts and bad parts. Terror and irrational behavior and incredible acts of benevolence.”
When they stopped in a hotel someone bought them a meal, another person gave Fenske a shirt and Scales a blanket to wear.
There was also a runner asking how he was going to get his finisher’s medal.
“This is World War 3,” Fenske said. “This is like Armageddon is happening and you are wondering about a finisher’s medal?”
They made it home and survived.
When it was over, three spectators were killed and 264 injured — at least 14 people required amputations.
Alexis Tarrazi 