‘Armed FBI agents screamed to put my hands on my head’

Diana Hogan-Murphy, from Montenotte in Cork City, on finishing the Boston Marathon and the terrifying ordeal that followed

I finished the marathon but had a near escape close to the finish line. Athletes were grouped in three waves depending on their qualifying times starting at 10am with a 20-minute gap between each wave. Luckily, I started in wave 1 and had happily finished the marathon approximately one hour before the explosions occurred.

The support throughout the marathon route appeared to be even better than my experiences in the New York City marathons, which is regarded as the best-supported marathon in the world with three million people out cheering.

It was a huge family affair in Boston as it was Patriots Day, which is a public holiday, and the weather was perfect with blue skies and plenty of sunshine. Bostonians are known for their love of sport and come out in hundreds of thousands to celebrate the Boston marathon as a family event.

Footpaths on both sides of the 42.2km route were packed with supporters of all ages offering refreshments and especially the last 2km were extremely congested on both sides.

After finishing the marathon I attended the medical tent for medical attention at the finish line area.

As I was leaving, I heard a loud bang that sounded similar to fireworks and saw a cloud of smoke across the road. Nobody really knew what was happening and the finish line area became very congested with people starting to panic and then the second blast occurred five seconds later.

The real panic then set in and everybody started sprinting past me away from the finish line, which was full of smoke. People were screaming and crying, not really sure of what was happening. I ran towards the official exit area past the finish line with the crowds and as soon as I got to the other side the first response appeared to be within a very short period with armed security personnel, FBI agents, paramedics, police and military everywhere assisting people and blocking the streets leading to the finish line area.

As I was staying in the block next to the crime scene in the Prudential building, I was allowed enter the building by FBI agents after showing ID and proof of address. I then realised the extent of the tragedy from the TV coverage and felt so lucky to escape unharmed. I was unable to contact my family and friends for a few hours as the internet and phones were shut down in that area.

That evening I attempted to get something to eat and left the building to be greeted by armed FBI agents who screamed that I had to put my hands on my head. After a body search and identification I was sent back to my apartment and was warned not to attempt to leave the block until at least Tuesday morning.

The Boston marathon is the oldest and best marathon in the world with its 117-year history, requirement to qualify, famous heartbreak hill at mile 20 and wonderful crowd support. On this occasion it has turned out to be an absolute tragedy, especially for the families of those three innocent victims who lost their lives and the 200 people who were injured. Hopefully, this same marathon will bring more crowd support and strength to people year after year and this will never deter those from participating and supporting public events.

- Diana Hogan-Murphy, who works as a clinical pharmacist in Cavan General Hospital, has run more than 50 marathons and ultra marathons and is the first person to complete a 250km self-sufficient ultra marathon on all seven continents.