"Then I saw people's faces...I knew something was very wrong."

This story was written and reported by Lauren Lanzon. It was posted to Madison Patch by Pem McNerney. 

Several runners from the Connecticut Shoreline participated in this year’s Boson Marathon and among them was Bruce Beebe, Madison resident and co-owner of Beebe Marina on the border of Guilford, who ran his 15th consecutive Boston Marathon this year.

After hearing from several sources that Bruce was safe and accounted for after tragedy struck the finish line, we caught up with Bruce after his BostonStrong Run last Saturday in Branford. He opened up about the emotional and tragic event that hit so close to home for him   

“I came in about 45 minutes before the explosions,” Bruce told Patch. “I usually hang around the finish line, cheer folks on and enjoy the race, but this year I was really cold so I headed over to my truck, about one block opposite the finish line, to warm up.”   

It was then that Bruce heard the explosions, though he didn’t know exactly what they were.   

“I heard the sounds, and at first, I thought it was the T,” Bruce said. “Then I saw people running and I saw their faces. It was then I knew something was very wrong. They were crying, panicking, running.”   

After asking what happened, Bruce knew he had to get out of the area for his own safety. He was able to quickly text his loved ones that he was safe before service was interrupted.   

“I turned on the radio to listen, and the first emotion is just disgust,” Bruce said. “To just try and imagine how someone could do this to people. Then you feel sad, angry, it’s just so emotional. To live part of the experience first hand and then to see the rest of it on the news; it’s been hard not to think about it since it happened.”   

Bruce also talked about the impact the event had on the community of runners.   

“The Boston Marathon is the greatest road race in the world and people participate from around the globe,” he explained. “This is something you don’t just go to it and run, you have to work towards it. Some people spend their lives working up to this event. When I look at my fellow runners after Monday, I can tell this tragedy has had such an effect on our community.”   

“But, looking forward, I know that next year the Boston Marathon will be bigger and be filled with even more passion than before,” Bruce concluded. “Right now, we can just do what we can to take care of the families of the victims and the injured. As runners, we will turn the bad into the positive. I know I’ll be back running Boston next year...We’re not running away.”