Veteran Milford Marathoner Describes a Chaotic Scene in Boston

Georgeann Compagnone, was a mile from the finish line when the first of two bombs exploded.

She didn't hear the explosions, because she had her earphones on. What she saw stopped her: up from behind her, several Boston Police and FBI cruisers racing toward the finish, and then "a wall of cops" running across the road, stopping the runners coming up behind and beside her.

Then everyone was scattered. "It was like the end of the world for a moment," she said.

The explosions killed three people and injured more than 100 others near the finish line in the Back Bay neighborhood, according to Boston.com.

Compagnone was running in her 9th Boston Marathon. It was one of her fastest, she said, and played out up until that point under perfect conditions.

The timing of the explosions, a few hours after the lead runners finished, meant that the bulk of runners — the second and third waves — were passing over the finish line, with their families waiting for them, Compagnone said.

"It's an event that people really work so hard at, to get across that finish line," she said. "And their families are so proud they're there."

Her friend, who was meeting her at the finish, was just coming out of a parking garage when the explosions went off. He saw smoke and people running everywhere. "Like crazy," she said. "People were running around every corner."

It took more than an hour for her to find her friend, she said. And longer to get out of the city, because the MBTA was shut down in the area, and the roads blockaded around the finish.

According to Compagnone, she also ran into the family of Ken Poole, another veteran marathoner from Milford, who was looking for him at the same time.

According to posts on the Milford Patch Facebook page Monday, the families and friends of seven other runners from Milford have reported they are safe. These runners include: Erika Robertson, Mike Nixon and family, Michelle Kennis, Caitlin Egan, Sandy Lehane, Kim Austin, and Sara Salmon. Erin Mahoney posted on the Hopkinton Running Club site that she did not run. Ken Poole reported Tuesday morning that he and his family are fine, as well.