Reaching the finish line a year later
The mood at the finish line of the Boston Marathon was elation — for him and everyone around him.
The 28-year-old Dubliner was among the many non-finishers of the ill-fated 2013 race who, last summer, were granted permission by the Boston Athletic Association to finish what they’d started.
This was personal for the city and for Sugrue. He was much too close to finishing last year, dangerously so. He had decided to participate at a relatively leisurely pace. This was a difficult proposition for someone who is a willing and able competitive international triathlete who represented Ireland in October 2012 at the World Championships in New Zealand.
As he eased past the 26-mile mark, he pulled out his camera to take footage of the throngs of racegoers and supporters who were roaring each and every runner on. He slowed to a walk to make sure his camera was sufficiently steady. Within 15 seconds the first bomb exploded.
I spoke to him last year in Boston for this newspaper and the conversation has stayed with me ever since. Needless to say the images he accidentally shot have etched in his memory though he swore he’d never watch the video again after handing it into the authorities.
“I really saw more than people could ever be prepared for,” he told me a year ago. “I saw people with clothes blown off. My most vivid image is of this man who walked right past me. He had blood on his face. His clothes down along one side were blown off. He seemed basically fine but the look in his eyes — he was shocked and, of course, the blood. And that’s the mild version of events.
“I was on the opposite side of the street. It’s four lanes wide and that was probably the main reason I was 100m away from the blast. Of course none of the runners was significantly injured. But it was still too close for comfort and it was harrowing to witness what people went through. You can’t prepare yourself for something like that.”
So a year later, I was intrigued about how it must have felt for him and others like him. After all, that’s a lot of time to think — almost four hours along that route with all that extra meaning, all those extra eyeballs. Not to mention the long preparation any marathon runner must endure.
I called Sugrue on Monday night. He sounded cheerful, joking that there were probably still a couple of hours worth of caffeine to leave his system. Mainly, he was enjoying that post-marathon euphoria that so many experience.
The normality of it was the key part. A notable achievement for the city of Boston. And the one thing that stood out was the gratitude of every citizen that normality was being maintained by this treasured race.
“I wouldn’t ever claim to be a spokesperson for the city,” he told me, “but I have certainly noticed that a greater sense of community has developed in the last 12 months. It’s not that people are suddenly best friends with everyone but they’re definitely more open.”
Once again, he ran the race leisurely before speeding up a little for the second half, driven on by the crowds and the occasion.
“I thought it would be a little more emotional in an upsetting way. There was just a huge sense of elation. I had a really fantastic day from start to finish and the crowds were really incredible all along the route. They were amazingly uplifting. The stretch down Boylston felt like a party, it really felt like a celebration.
“I did think there would be some sort of significance given to the two spots where the explosions happened. There were sets of flowers as you would expect but it was really business as usual for the Boston Athletic Association throughout the day. People were simply delighted to be there and wanted to prove that while a lot had changed, nothing really had changed.
“That’s the way it should be, of course. Even from a practical point of view, it would be very difficult to commemorate the atrocity when so much worthy has been done already.
“There was no way any of us were going to miss the opportunity to be back here. Many of us are determined to keep participating. I may not necessarily always live here but I will certainly be back here as often as possible for the third Monday in April. It holds a special place and it’s a special race.”
