Community Corner

Foxborough Resident: 'I Should Have Crossed the Finish Line' When Marathon Bombs Went Off

Foxborough's Alyssa Solomon recounts first marathon experience, including a fateful stop at Mile 12 that prevented her from crossing the finish line on Boylston Street when the two deadly bombs went off Monday.

For 25 miles, the Boston Marathon was everything Alyssa Solomon hoped it would be.

“It was unreal,” Solomon said of her marathon experience prior to Monday’s attacks near the finish line at Copley Square. “It was so amazing. You don’t even feel like you are running when you’re [on the marathon route]. Everyone is going crazy, there’s live music, and people are yelling your name. Through the whole thing there was always something going on. It was amazing.”

The 22-year-old Foxborough resident was running in her first marathon Monday as part of The Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge Team in an effort to raise money and awareness for cancer research.

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“A goal in my life is to complete a marathon,” Solomon said prior to Monday’s race. “If I am going to run the marathon, I want to do it for a good cause. Cancer is a continuous issue in many people's lives. In my life and my family's lives, cancer has been prevalent.”

Solomon was running Monday for her “Grammy” Joanne, who passed away from lung cancer, who her uncle Jack who passed away of a brain tumor and her “Nana” Margery, who is currently fighting lung cancer.

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For 25 miles, Solomon was on top of the world, soaking in the atmosphere and relishing in the moment as she ran past thousands of screaming spectators cheering her on.

She even saw her family at Mile 17 and stopped for a quick picture with younger sister, Ariel.

“I saw my family at Mile 17 and they told me I looked way too happy to be running,” Solomon said with a laugh.

She then continued on her way towards the finish line and couldn’t help but get excited when she read the “One More Mile” sign as she passed Fenway Park through Kenmore Square.

For 25 miles, Solomon was on the ultimate runner’s high with her goal in sight … and then she approached Boylston Street.

Solomon was nearing the finish line shortly after 3:10 p.m. – roughly 20 minutes after two deadly bombs exploded on Boylston Street.

“I was probably less than a half-mile away [from the finish line] and had no idea what was going on because I had my headphones on and could only hear people screaming my name,” Solomon said.

As the Foxborough High School graduate continued towards the finish line she began to realize something was wrong.

“I started seeing people screaming and running and was wondering what was going on,” Solomon said. “Cops were pushing me and I stopped. When I stopped I couldn’t walk and couldn’t move. I didn’t know anyone around me and had no idea what was going on.”

Then all of a sudden it all set in.

“Someone started yelling, “A bomb, a bomb,” Solomon said. … “I got one call [before the cell phone service went off] and it was my sister screaming at the top of her lungs, ‘You’re going to die.’ She was screaming.”

Confused and scared, Solomon could see the finish line from a distance down Boylston Street and continued towards it.

“I kept thinking, ‘OK, I’m this close’ but seeing everyone panic was the scariest moment of my life,” Solomon said.

The first-year marathoner described the scene as “chaotic,” “confusing” and “all of a sudden.”

“I didn’t realize how severe everything was because I couldn’t see everything from where I was but I knew something was going on,” Solomon said.

Despite the panic and fear, Solomon wanted to finish the race.

“I didn’t come this far to stop and I was mad,” Solomon recalled. “Everything was all of a sudden. There were cop cars going by, everyone was still trying to run because we were all literally less than half a mile away.”

Out of nowhere, Solomon spotted her father pushing through crowds toward her on the street.

“He was crying because nobody could get a hold of me,” Solomon said. “He saw me and just grabbed me and started bawling his eyes out.”

Solomon said her dad “literally picked her up” and took her away from the course.

“I was being very stubborn because I wanted to cross the finish line,” Solomon said. “This was my first marathon and [my dad] kept saying, ‘You don’t get it, you don’t get it.’”

Solomon’s dad took her to their vehicle near the Marriot Hotel in Copley and got out of the city quickly.

“My dad was a Boston cab driver and he knew all the back roads so we were able to cut off a lot of the traffic and get home,” she said.

Solomon said she got back home around 6 p.m. and couldn’t believe what she had just experienced.

“There was just a lot of panic,” she said. “It was just crazy.”

What If …

Solomon said she should have been crossing the finish line right around the time the bombs went off at Copley Square but a bathroom stop at Mile 12 slowed her time.

“For me, [with my personal time], I should have been there [at the finish line], which is scary but I had to go to the bathroom at Mile 12,” Solomon said. “So I stopped to go to the bathroom and everyone I know was freaking out because based on my time and [BAA] tracking I should have been at the finish line [when the bombs went off]. That’s when all the cell phone reception went off.”

With no cell phone service during the height of Monday’s tragedy Solomon said she had received about 200 missed calls and text messages, many of which she had not been able to respond to as of Tuesday afternoon.

“At that point [of the explosions] my [running] time had said I should have crossed the finish line so everyone who was tracking me was calling me and texting me,” Solomon said.

Making matters worse, Solomon knew family and friends were at Copley Square waiting for her to finish at the time of the explosions.

“My family heard the explosions they were right there,” Solomon said. … “I was freaked out and scared because I thought everyone was hurt. Everyone was going there to watch me and I was almost done. Then I felt guilty because everyone came to watch me and it was just really hard. … I was bawling my eyes out. Everyone was just crying. It was crazy.”

Thankfully, all of Solomon’s supporters are safe and accounted for following Monday’s tragedy.

“Thank God,” she said.

Tragedy Will Not Stop Solomon from Running Again

Despite Monday’s tragedy, Solomon said she would run the Boston Marathon again, especially if it was for Dana-Farber or another charity.

“Dana-Farber was amazing,” Solomon said. “I would definitely run with Dana-Farber again they were so great in supporting their runners.

“You just get addicted [to marathons]. You don’t feel like you’re running. I would do Boston again and consider running next year. …. I would do it 100 percent for a cause again. The best part about it was doing it for Dana-Farber. If I do it again I definitely want to make sure I’m part of a charity.”

Solomon is thankful that her and her loved ones are safe following Monday’s tragedy but she remains deeply saddened by those affected.

“I feel horrible,” Solomon said. “I send my love to everyone affected. I wish there was more I could do. Everyone just needs to pray for them and think about them.”


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