Springfield College in Springfield, MA sent a group to the Boston Marathon last Monday.

The Springfield Student’s Editor Gabby DeMarchi tells their story.

Boston Marathon Bombing Hits Home with Springfield College Students and Faculty

On Monday, April 15, the 117-year-old Boston Marathon was in full swing. Two hours after the winners crossed the finish line at 2:50 p.m., two explosives went off 12 seconds apart along Boylston Street that dramatically changed the mood and setting of the joyous event.

To date, the explosives have taken three lives and injured more than 186 people. As usual, there was a heavy Springfield College presence at perhaps the state’s most iconic athletic event. One member of our community who was there was Assistant Professor of Physical Therapy Dr. Dawn Roberts.

Roberts, an avid marathon runner, has run the Boston Marathon 12 times. This past Monday was nothing different.

“It’s a terrific race,” Roberts said. “I don’t want to taint a great day and a great event.”

Roberts was running in the marathon along with 125 other runners supporting Griffin’s Friends Charity, which is a charity run through Baystate Medical Center that supports kids with cancer.

“We had just finished and we were getting our blankets and taking some pictures. We were about 200 yards away and we heard a huge bang. We turned around and saw a lot of smoke and the ground was shaking. We knew right away that something really bad had happened. We heard the second one and we had to get away from there,” Roberts explained.

“We all stuck together and got out as quickly as we could. We had planned to regroup anyway. It quickly turned from people were very calm and knew something was wrong, but then it kind of got a little chaotic.”

Roberts credits her group’s quick thinking and calm disposition for getting everyone to the Boston Common safe and sound.