A local runner escaped Monday’s explosions at the finish line of the Boston Marathon, crossing the line less than a minute before smoke and debris filled the air.
Shalimar’s Paula Piazza missed it by 15 seconds, according to her friend and fellow runner Michelle Underwood of Destin. Underwood had finished about a half an hour earlier.
Neither woman was injured, according to Rex Stinnett, a Destin man who has trained with both women.
After finding each other in the chaotic aftermath, they sought refuge in a nearby building, where Underwood texted Stinnett.
“Very scary,” Underwood texted at about 2:45 p.m. “No phone coverage. The whole street is now closed — scared to leave.”
Stinnett urged the women to get away from the finish area, if they could, and to remove themselves from large crowds as soon as they could.
“Understand your fear,” he texted. “Thank you God. Please be safe.”
Jeff Harris, owner of Run With It, said he and other runners were following the women’s progress by tracking their bib numbers.
They were excited when Underwood finished and achieved a personal best at 3:32. Then they followed Piazza till they saw that her bib number had crossed the line four hours and eight minutes after she started.
Almost simultaneously, they learned of the explosions.
“We were freaked out, trying to get in touch with Michelle,” Harris said. “We knew she was there and looking for Paula. We were sick with worry, trying to find out any information.”
Though Harris has run marathons, he has never qualified for Boston’s, which he calls the Super Bowl of running.
“I truthfully don’t think it will affect the sport as a whole,” he said. “Anytime you have an event that draws numbers of people like this and has this kind of buildup, there’s always the chance that somebody is going to take advantage of it in a malicious way.”
He said he expects that increased security will be an outcome of Monday’s tragedy but said it’s not going to be easy.
“A marathon takes place over 26 miles,” he said. “How are you going to have security for a 26-mile race like you do a stadium where you can check every single person that comes in?
“Any crazy person could find a way to make their point.”
Contact Daily News Assignment Editor Wendy Victora at 850-315-4478 or wvictora@nwfdailynews.com. Follow her on Twitter @WendyVnwfdn.