Boston Marathon Blasts: Close Call for Some Local Runners

Two local men—Lower Saucon Township's zoning officer and a Hellertown resident—finished Monday's Boston Marathon about an hour before two explosions killed at least three people and injured more than 130.

Other Lehigh Valley runners finished just minutes before the deadly blasts.

James Mastrianni, 50, of Hellertown finished the marathon in just over three hours, according to the Boston Athletic Association website.

Lower Saucon Township Zoning Officer Christopher Garges, like Mastrianni, was part of the race's first wave of runners. Garges, 38, finished the race in 2:53:15, according to the Express-Times.

Late Monday afternoon, Garges posted a message on his Facebook page to let friends and supporters know that he is OK.

"We were evacuated from the mass transit, apparently there were explosions at the finish," he wrote. "Our whole group is fine and we're walking over the bridge to MIT to find a way back."

Later Garges reiterated that he was safe.

"We are all blessed to be OK, please pray for everyone involved, those injured, the doctors and all EMS personnel," he said, adding that he was leaving Boston to return to a hotel in the suburbs.

Back Bay Patch in Boston is posting updates as this story evolves.

Here's more on other Lehigh Valley runners:

J. Jackson Eaton III, a partner with the Allentown law firm Gross McGinley LLP, is safe after finishing the marathon two minutes before the explosion, according to a Tweet received from the law firm.

"Quite frightening, but we are all safe," Eaton wrote in a message to his colleagues.

Amy Gleason and Allison Zimmerman of Forks Township ran for safety when the bombs went off shortly after they crossed the finish lline.

Gleason, running in her third Boston marathon, had finished the race about 20 minutes before the explosions and was waiting for her friend Allison, who completed the race seven minutes before the blasts.

"I want to leave as soon as possible," Gleason said. "This brings back a lot of feelings of fear."

Those fears stem from Gleason's experience as a nurse in New York City on 9/11. Her husband Mike was a New York City police officer. 

"We all paused," Zimmerman said. "Our husbands lifted up the barricades and we shimmied underneath on our bellies."

Amy Gleason's husband Mike said he was about 100 feet away from the explosion Monday, 

"The girls had just crossed the finish line," he said. "We went down to meet them with our kids and gave them some water. Then... I heard the first explosion. There was a big plume of smoke. The second one came 20-30 seconds after.

"I'm thinking, 'two explosions. This isn't a coincidence. This is a terrorist attack,'" he said.

Congregation Keneseth Israel Rabbi Seth Phillips 60, of South Whitehall, sent a text that the explosion happened a few minutes after he had finished the marathon. Phillips was not injured, according to an e-mail sent by a synagogue member.

Lafayette College freshman Andrew Halloran tweeted that he was OK late Monday afternoon. 

Lehigh Valley Roadrunners Member Neal Novak emailed Patch that he had word from numerous sources that all club members who ran in the marathon were safe.

On Nazareth Patch's Facebook page, one of three Nazareth runners who competed, is OK. 

Kelley Ann Neal Joseph and Holly Bachman reported that Jim Rehrig was also OK. Rehrig had not yet finished the marathon when the first blast was reported at 2:42 p.m., according to www.baa.org. Rehrig was about a half mile from the finish line when the first bomb detonated, Joseph said.

Amby Burfooton the 45th anniversary of his 1968 Boston Marathon win wearing bib #1968.

Burfoot, an editor at large at Rodale's Runner's World told Runnersworld.com that he was about three-quarters of a mile from the finish line when the explosions occurred:

"We were about to go under the Mass Ave. underpass when suddenly there was congestion in front of us," Burfoot said in an email.

"Soon it became clear it was runners congesting."

"Everyone's cell phones starting going off. I got a call from [my wife] Cristina that the finish line was cleared and the race was over."

Burfoot walked back to his hotel, the story said.  

The blasts shocked Southern Lehigh School Board Secretary Diana Millman whose 22-year-old daughter—now a student in Boston—lives on Copley Square right next to the finish line.

Millman tried to reach her daughter by telephone phone, but had no luck.

She then turned to social media and found photos taken at the finish line by her daughter and posted on Instagram.

Millman’s daughter is safe.

When the pair finally connected Monday afteroon, Millman learned that her daughter left the finish line about 15 minutes before the two blasts that killed two and injured more than 100 people.

The school district has another connection to the race.

Southern Lehigh School Board President Jeffrey Dimmig ran in the Boston Marathon in past years. He didn't compete this year, according to Millman.