Dino Verrelli, of Beacon Falls, was just minutes away from crossing the finish line at the Boston Marathon on Monday when the bombs went off.
He got to about point four before the finish, where he found a wall of people.
“No one knew what was going on,” said Verrelli, who was running his second Boston Marathon with a charity team. “I asked a couple of police officers what was going on and they had no idea.”
Verrelli’s belongings, including his cell phone, were at the finish line.
He was unable to reach his wife and he could not get to his hotel. After running miles, Verrelli decided to walk two more to the safety of a friend’s house.
“Thankfully, when I rang the doorbell, my best friend’s wife was there to greet me. We hugged, cried for a while. I was able to call my wife,” Verrelli said.
On Tuesday, Verrelli and other runners finally got their belongings at the “Castle” at the Boston Park Plaza. After that, he carried out the mission he came to do for charity.
“I just dropped off a check for $35,000 with the people at Tufts Medical for pancreatic research,” said Verrelli, who was running for Project Purple, which raises money for pancreatic cancer research.
Verrelli’s father died of pancreatic cancer and is his inspiration at every race, he said.
A day after the explosions, he echoed what several runners have said -- what happened near the finish line on Monday will not keep them away from the Boston Marathon.
“It’s tragic, but runners are such a resilient group. It’s never going to stop the Boston Marathon or stop them from running,” he said. He said some of the people who lost limbs or went through this tragedy will run next year’s race.
“It’s amazing to see that human spirit,” he said.
You can learn more about Project Purple here. http://www.run4projectpurple.org/
Photo Credit: Getty Images