Choking back tears, Bade, a 4-year Boston Marathon veteran, reflected on how she could have possibly finished the race with her fastest time without training all winter long.

“Now I know why I did,” she said. “There’s a reason why I did. God wanted me to.”

At about 2:50 p.m., two explosives went off ten seconds apart on the corner of Boylston and Exeter streets in downtown Boston, killing at least three people and injuring more than 100, according to numerous media reports.

Throughout the chaos, Bade kept reminding herself how thankful she was that unlike other years competing in the race, she didn’t bring her children this time around, including finance sophomore Luke Bade.

“I was a little shook up,” Luke Bade said, recalling the moment she told him about the bomb. “I left class to call her. She was crying.”

As news of the Boston tragedy ripples across the nation and worldwide, evoking millions of thoughts and prayers to Massachusetts, Luke Bade and his mom are appreciating their safety.
And they aren’t the only Spartans.

Surviving more than just the race

An 8-year-old boy was among those killed during the chaos. Boston hospitals reported at least 132 people are being treated for injuries, with at least 10 amputations as of press time.

An estimated 27,000 people crossed the finish line before the explosions, and at least three of those participants are MSU students.

Graduate student Cody Harlacher was lucky enough to cross the finish line before the bombs exploded and made it back to his hotel, which was about 2.5 miles from the race, he said.

Harlacher thought what occurred at the race finish line was horrific and haunting because of a Facebook post he had made prior to the explosions.

“I jokingly posted it’s a ‘Boston Massacre’ because I was so tired from the race,” Harlacher said. “It’s just very tragic. I’m without words.”

Like Harlacher, hospitality business senior Benny Ebert-Zavos competed in the race and also was long gone when the bombs exploded at the finish line.

Ebert-Zavos said this was his best time in such a race, and he was ecstatic about his finish. But those emotions faded away after he heard the news.

“It was really devastating,” he said. “Boston (Marathon) is the pinnacle — people train for months for this race, and they dedicate all they have for this, and it is beyond me that a bystander would conduct this.”

Finance sophomore Jonathon Geer finished an hour before the bombs exploded, but reflected on what would have happened if he hadn’t.

“My parents were standing right where the bomb went off,” Geer said. “It was really scary knowing that it could have been them.”

The MSU Alumni Club of Boston has yet to hear from any Spartans involved in the tragedy, club president Jennifer Bunce said.

She said the club has sent out messages via its social media avenues, but hasn’t been contacted by MSU alumni affected by the incident. As investigations continue to develop, Bunce said she will look into the victims’ names once they are released.

“I’ll do some research on my own to see if they’re part of our Boston MSU family,” she said.

Spartans will

While victims and their families recover and Boston begins its healing process, the nation is bound to begin asking the big questions — why and how did this happen?

“Knowing what terrorists are capable of, I wasn’t surprised,” criminal justice professor Steve Chermak said. “The Boston Marathon is a high profile event and very difficult to keep safe.”

He said as the chaos ensued in Boston on Monday, law enforcement was working on two simultaneous goals. The first was to lead the public to safety, secure the crime scene and collect evidence. At the same time, officials began using these clues to generate leads to find suspects in hopes of apprehending them as quickly as possible, Chermak said.

President Barack Obama addressed a worried and upset nation at about 6 p.m. Monday.

“We still do not know who did this or why, and people shouldn’t jump to conclusions before we have all the facts,” Obama said. “Make no mistake — we will get to the bottom of this and we will find out who did this, and find out why they did this. Any responsible individuals, any responsible groups, will feel the full weight of justice.”

Although the president was careful not to use the word “terrorism” to describe the Boston bombings, some Americans could remain fearful of subsequent attacks. But Chermak said they shouldn’t forget how far safety has come since 9/11.

“The number of foiled terrorists’ plans since 9/11 is an incredible number,” he said.

He said police usually have homeland security plans in place to prevent terrorism, and during the next few weeks, law enforcement officials and lawmakers will try to figure out where the gaps were.

Despite the haunting memory of this year’s Boston Marathon, Ebert-Zavos said he isn’t afraid to run in the event again in future years and hopes others will do the same.

“I hope for years to come that people will continue to run,” Ebert-Zavos said. “I will run in memory of those who died.”

Numerous State News reporters contributed to this report.