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GREENFIELD, Wis. — Just 20 minutes before the Boston Marathon bombing 10 years ago, Greenfield native Mary Pelkofer crossed the finish line.
Her family and then-boyfriend had come to cheer her on; after finishing the race she hurried to find them all.
She had no idea what would happen just minutes later.
“It was a pretty nice day. I had a lot of family that came. Family from the East Coast and then local family, my parents, sister and my boyfriend at the time — who is now husband,” said Pelkofer.
They all met at a nearby restaurant to celebrate Pelkofer’s accomplishment. When they got there, Pelkofer said their phones stopped working; that’s when they realized something was happening.
The bombing had just taken place, killing 3 people and injuring more than 260 others.
“We saw them reporting on the news on the TV and we all just said we needed to get out of there,” explained Pelkofer.
But Boston was on lockdown. Pelkofer said everyone was in a race against the clock — and the city’s close — to get out and make it home.
“It was just chaos for probably the next hour,” said Pelkofer.
Pelkofer and her family survived the attack with no physical injuries. However, she said they were still impacted emotionally.
“It took a bit to recognize and understand what had happened. I am just so grateful; we got lucky in every element from crossing the finish line moments before the bombing happened to getting on the last train out of the city and being in the airport when everything was kind of unfolding,” said Pelkofer.
Pelkofer and her family all made it home safely, but she said despite the tragedy, she did not want that to be her last time running across that finish line.
She qualified for the Boston Marathon — the oldest annual marathon in the world — again in 2017. This time, her race day was a chance to be a part of something bigger than herself.
“It was a wonderful chance to re-engage and see the strength of the community. This time it had a much better ending and it is a really cool experience — just thankful to be a part of it again,” said Pelkofer.
The next year, she qualified again and she said she planned to run it again. But that plan changed when she found out she was pregnant with her first child.
Even though she opted not to run in 2018, Pelkofer and her husband traveled to Boston anyway to cheer on the runners and announce the cheery news. The 2018 race was a much happier day than the one from years before.
“I have a little shirt that I held up near the race and we got to announce our future Boston marathoner,” said Pelkofer.
Even so, Pelkofer said the Boston Marathon anniversary remains a somber day, but one that shows the strength and resilience of racers around the world.