By PETER SCHLEHR
SID Emeritus
TOWSON, Md. – Megan DiGregorio's first Boston Marathon will forever be her most memorable.
The former Towson University cross country and long distance runner was the 76th woman to cross the finish line in Monday's 117th running of the Boston Marathon. Her time of 2:55.41 was just under a half-hour off the winning time of 2:26.25 by Kenya's Rita Jeptoo.
About an hour after Megan had completed her race, two powerful explosions detonated near the finish line that resulted in fatalities and widespread injuries.
Five minutes before those explosions Megan was waiting diagonally across the street from the finish line to greet friends who were still running. She left her spot to join her parents who had accompanied their daughter on her first Boston Marathon.
“I had a ton of friends in the race and I was waiting for them to finish,” the 2010 Towson graduate said. “When the blast occurred I was about a block and a half away. I wasn't injured. I was close enough, though, that when the bombs went off they were pretty loud and I could see all the smoke. I could hear people screaming. “
Megan's parents cautioned her against moving any closer to the site.
“The first bomb exploded and we thought, oh, it's a canon, and they're celebrating Patriots Day,” Megan recalled. “A few seconds later another blast went off and my dad said it wasn't right so we started to move in the opposite direction. Everyone around us was shocked and confused.”
Chaos ensued.
The severity of the event unfolded for Megan as she began receiving cell phone calls and text messages from friends back home.
“People were asking if I was okay,” she said. “One of the callers told me it was already on the news and he was telling me what had happened.”
Within a short time, the area was a sea of fire and rescue equipment. It was gridlock. The post-race plan had been to catch a cab back to their hotel. It became evident that option was not available, so she and her parents walked the two miles. They returned to Baltimore the same night after making a 6:00 p.m. flight out of Logan Airport.
DiGregorio has had her sights set on the Boston Marathon for some time. Since leaving Towson three years ago, her times have dropped. She's a stronger runner. In the last several years she's won almost 80 percent of her women's division races.
“Making my own schedule has helped,” she said. “I've developed more control. I run with a group of college athletes and most of them are guys. That helps me because the guys are a little faster.”
The Boston Marathon requires a runner to meet a qualifying time. This year the mark was 3:35. DiGregorio qualified in her first attempt last May, when she turned a 3:00.44 in the New Jersey Marathon. She finished first among 907 women and 24th overall in a field of 2,328 runners. Later, in November, she placed 11th among 2,140 women in the Anthem Richmond Marathon with a time of 3:01.51.
Like many of the nearly 27,000 runners in Monday's iconic race, Megan isn't allowing the tragedy to dampen her spirit or enthusiasm. She's in it for the long haul. She knows she can compete at a higher level.
Her next goal is to qualify for the Olympic Trials before the 2016 Games. That'll take a 2:43. She's 12 minutes away. But regardless of what the future holds, Megan will never forget the race she ran on April 15, 2013.
