IAmA 117th Boston Marathon Finish Line Volunteer. AMA

Zadmxm, Quick note - if you or anyone you worked with has any photos or videos from today - prior to or during the race can you please forward them to the FBI Boston.

[email protected]

Any place on the route, any time today. Would be appreciated by those of us who are investigating this horrible crime.

thanks (sorry for hijack - trying to get the word out).

We've tried to get all our photos in, but I'll put the word out to our team. We were way back at the start of the chaos, but I'll let them know. Thanks!

No question, but I am very glad you are safe.

Thanks. It's been a freaky day.

So, I've been wondering since I heard the news.

What was your initial thought when the explosions went off? Did you suspect a terrorist attack, did you suspect a gas leak or something? Is the chaos as bad as you thought it would be? Are there more dead than you thought? Less dead? More injured? Less injured?

Sorry for so many questions, I'm just very interested in events like this. A morbid fascination I guess.

I thought construction accident when I hear the noises at first. Once they said explosion, I did pretty much assume attack. The marathon is a uniquely powerful thing, and there are sadly people who would destroy that.

Were volunteers like yourself given any instruction ahead of time on how to handle a situation like this should it arise? I realize there could be no predicting this type of thing, just curious on any training you may have received ahead of time.

We weren't. I was a very low level volunteer, on the higher level planning volunteers I'm sure they had plans in place.

Did chaos ensue when people realized it was an explosion, or did most people attempt to stay calm and help out the injured?

It was really a mix. Some people ran in, some people ran away. Both did something equally important.

How close were you to the initial explosion?

A block.

I'm glad you are safe. Was it loud?

Not as loud as you'd expect. Sounded more like a pop, but you really could feel it in your chest a little bit.

Thanks for answering. I'm a little confused. Did you hear two explosions? Or did the two devices explode at the same time?

Two explosions seconds apart. They sounded pretty much identical.

I guess I will start by saying thanks for sticking around and helping people, the world benefits from having people like you. Now I gotta ask how would you describe the situation and what happened in your own words?

My friend and I were at our post when we heard and felt something that sounded like a huge pop. She immediately thought explosion, I downplayed it and wrote it off as something falling. There was a group of police nearby who's radios went off and all we heard was, "Explosion" and then they took off towards Copley. We found the rest of our team and we got them out of there but I decided to stay back and help however I could which wound up being directing emergency vehicles of all sorts and managing foot traffic.

are you going to volunteer when they do it next year? Very cool of you to help out after everything happened.

Yes! I met some incredible people today, saw incredible athletes, and am not going to let somebody with a bomb keep me away from that.

This may seem insignificant, but how were the runners attended to after everything went down? After running a marathon, you can be at risk for a lot of serious health issues (dehydration, exhaustion, etc.), and without proper treatment it can even lead to death. If everyone was focused on the explosion, and the medical tents obviously had to be converted to aid stations, then how did they treat the hundreds, maybe thousands of runners who were finishing or nearing the end of the race?

The medical tent near me kept focusing on runners where possible. We did keep running our wheelchairs in and out of the finish area, but they really focused on the more expected post-marathon care.

Could you give a synopsis of what took place from the explosions until now, from your point of view please?

I want to get to this one, I'll try to once the initial flurry dies down a bit.

It's up! See OP.

How did you react when you saw the first people being taken from the blast area?

I didn't. I've been in high stress situations before, never on this magnitude, but I deal with crises very calmly.

How do you deal? Do you repress it or do you actually deal with it?

It honestly doesn't register, I just focus on what has to happen and what my next move has to be. It's starting to sink in a little bit now.

Hope this AMA helps you work through the crap that you witnessed today.

I'm doing this partially just to get my thoughts on metaphorical paper so I can look back on this in the future.

How are you feeling emotionally right now? Thank you for doing this AMA.

Pretty mellow. I'm a bit edgy to see what the next few days will bring.

If one of us were to ever find ourselves in a situation like this, do you recommend we run away from the site so we don't get in the way of the first responders, or toward the site to help the first responders? What would be the most helpful?

It depends. For me, I was volunteering already and knew I dealt with crisis situations very well. I also have a very diverse skillset that came in handy.

Also, I wouldn't recommend running, unless you're right by the blast. Get clear and move with a purpose, but not with chaos.

Thanks! Follow-up question (if you see this):

What skill-sets are most needed by first responders? In other words, what skills would I need to possess to make my presence an asset instead of a hindrance?

Level headedness and being able to do exactly what you're told. If they say jump, you jump and ask midair how high they want you.

How long did it take to realize how bad it actually was?

Until I got home.

You didn't see any of the victims? How long did you stay there as well when all that happened?

I was far enough away that ambulances were going in and out past me.

Edit: Missed the part about how long I was there, I stayed for 4 hours past the explosions until they made us go home.

I'm sorry you had to witness something like that. How are you doing? I am sure it was horrifying and can't really even imagine what it was like. I am sure there are a lot of grisly things you can tell us but let me ask a positive question. What was the most amazing or touching thing you saw today?

Edit: grizzly to grisly

The volunteers, the runners, and the first responders. Every last person who stuck around did an incredible job and went so far above and beyond what they had signed up to do.

One of my favorites was a runner who put on a Google Fiber team jacket afterwards, jumped in, and helped us coordinate our efforts.

I'm sure he was 100 times faster than everyone else to respond. /poortaste joke

I made nearly that exact joke about him helping us optimise.

You okay?

I'm good. Doesn't feel real though.

I heard a report of people continuing to run after the marathon was over and running the hospital to donate blood, is that true?

Yes. Marathoners are a really unique species.

No question. But being a runner. I think to myself this could of been me in this marathon. Thank you for the help or the wounded and what you did. You had the heart and guts that others could not.

Thanks for being a runner. I'm one myself, but an injury has me limping along right now. It's incredible to see what humans can do.

I would have been hauling ass out of there expecting more.

+1 for balls to stay and help out.

Hauling ass for me at the moment is a bit of a rapid hobble, so I wasn't really going anywhere.

I've heard these were ball bearing packed. Did you hear the rain of bearings? I listened for them in the videos but audio sucks. Any bearings littering the streets?

Are you ok?

I didn't hear the rain of bearings, I just heard the initial pops of the blasts. By the time I left my post the entire area was blocked off.

What was the split between people staying to help, as opposed to getting out to safety asap? It must've been terrifying.

It was really a mix. Bombs are scary, it's really hard to know who's going to react how until you're in this situation.

When you went to help did you think anything like, "There could be more bombs and I could be caught in one"?

When I first saw videos of the explosions I was thinking that if I was there I probably would have been hesitant to help because I would be worried there were more bombs.

It crossed my head, but I really didn't think of it for long enough. To me, the possibility of getting injured is less important than the potential for helping others already injured.

Don't you want most people to get out of the way, to safety, and those in a position to help (e.g., doing a specific task like dealing with traffic or skills like a paramedic, etc.) to stay? I'm just thinking it would be a logistical cluster fuck if everyone stayed to help.

It would be. I've got a solid and wide skillset that I suspected would come in hand, and it did. The marathon is so huge that we used everybody who was there.

Before I ask, thank you.

Everyone was freaking out because this was near the Newtown bleachers, was this as close or as big a deal as everyone made it?

It was an emotional link, and a very emotional thing. New England is a close knit community that really rallied around Newtown, and that blow really was felt.

Have you ever been more scared in your life?

Yes. A friend of mine had a medical emergency the other day and was having issues breathing. It was much more personally scary and less manageable from my view. This was much more an abstracted setting where I just had to keep going and could do something to help.

Jesus. You're a god damn machine.

It sounds detached, but what he's saying makes sense in my opinion. It sounds like he didn't have time to stop and process or be emotional in today's case.

Thank you. A friend of mine is very badly injured from the blast today. was complaining about not being able to beat his marathon time when the doctor told him to get off the phone. i have mad respect for this individual who, after experiencing something personally traumatic, STILL attended and volunteered at this marathon where he/she made a difference for people like my friend. They're a god damn machine. No time to be in shock, no time to be tired. Only time to be a hero. One of a great few in this world.

I loved the runners who did this, it honestly made me laugh and just keep going. It's such the mentality of a marathoner.

also do know any extra info the media might have not shared, i've been hearing about multiple dismemberment at the scene of the site is that real true?

(Commenting to find this later down vote all you want)

Fuck you I'll do what I want, upvoted

reddit.com/r/firstworldanacrhists

There were some lost limbs, other than that I don't know.

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I'm not sure. It's definitely going to leave a mark, this is a nearly sacred day in Boston.

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I didn't at first, they weren't really that loud considering what they were. I wasn't in a spot where I saw the worst of the injuries, but I am a biologist and have never had an issue with anything that I saw.

I'm not sure if this is an appropriate question or not, but here goes:

I've read that before the bomb went off that there was an abnormally high amount of police at the marathon, and that they had dogs sniffing for something which is a possible indicator of a received threat or perceived abnormality. Can you confirm or deny? Did you notice anything different about this marathon that may have been different from others?

Thank you in advance for a response, for helping those people, and I am glad that you are safe.

I didn't notice anything unusual. I wasn't really paying attention to security though, I was volunteering with a different team.

Who were primarily affected by the attack- runners or spectators?

Spectators were more injured, the explosions were in the crowd.

What was the most heroic thing you saw done today?

Things like this will always bring out the heroes in everybody. I saw people do incredible things, runners finishing one of the hardest races out there and then going and donating blood, turning around and helping coordinate our efforts, bomb squad guys rushing straight into an explosive situation. Every last person who did something good today is, in my mind, a hero for going so far above and beyond what they'd signed up to do.

How would you describe what happened leading up to, during, and after the bombs went off?

Leading up to: Calm, celebration, congratulations, and cheering. During: Not much different. It took a few minutes before we started to realise what had happened. After: Controlled chaos.

Did the media do an accurate job portraying the devastation or is it worse than we can imagine?

I haven't been watching much, it seems pretty accurate so far.

How are you doing?

I'm alive and well, thanks. How are you?

I have to ask; does anyone know what actually happened at this point? There's been so much sensationalism I just want a straight answer.

We know there were bombs. That's as much as I can tell you first hand.

What's your impression of the general mood around Boston shortly after the blasts and again now?

Strong. We're a unique city that's got very close bonds, and there's a lot of anger and sadness.

After this tragic event. Do you think you will volunteer for next year if they have another marathon?

Definitely!

Edit: Also, I don't think it's a question of if. We will have another marathon, Boston isn't going to give up a tradition like this because some nutjob tried to scare us off.

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The explosion was close to the finish line bleachers near a store called Marathon Sports. It went off around the 4 hour mark of the race, the runners coming in then were about the middle of the pack.

Oh my...

What did you do as part of the emergency response?

Do you have any photos from the scene?

Were you around for the discovery of the other device(s)?

Thank you for your volunteerism. Volunteering your time is something I wish more people would take advantage of. There are many in need.

I do not have photos from the scene, I was about a block away and was more focused on helping however I could.

I helped direct traffic into the emergency command center and manage runners, foot traffic, and their families.

I was, we heard over the police radio that they had found another device and that bomb squad was dealing with it.

Have you ever run the Boston Marathon? Has this attack made you want to run it or run it again?

No, but I do hope to run it one day, especially in defiance of today's events.

Did the fact that the runners had just run 26 miles have any impact on their reactions to the explosions?

Yes. When we were clearing paths for EMS, it was hard to get their attention and to get them to react quickly and predictably.

Thank you so much for being there to help. My uncle was there as well and really everyone there needed all the help that they could get. I'm glad that you're safe too. What was your first thought when you heard the explosion?

I'm glad your uncle's okay! Nothing at first, by the time I realised what was going on I was more focused on getting my team safely out of the area and then helping.

Can you relate to us how you felt in the moments that proceeded and after the explosion as well as anything else noteworthy.

Laughter. A nearby volunteer had just misspoke and said that the buses would take the runners back to the start in Boston, not the actual start. It really hit when I saw the police start running and jumping barricades.

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Nothing, the pops didn't register as explosions at first. We felt them, but I wrote it off.

There are reports that there were bomb sniffing dogs both at the start of the race and the finish line before the race began. According to this account, they announced over the speakers that this was a training exercise. http://www.local15tv.com/news/local/story/UM-Coach-Bomb-Sniffing-Dogs-Spotters-on-Roofs/BrirjAzFPUKKN8z6eSDJEA.cspx

Can you confirm if you saw heightened security like rooftop spotters, bomb sniffing dogs and loud speaker announcements?

I cannot. I wasn't focusing on security at all, and the only loudspeakers I was aware of were the runner assistance vox boxes.

Hey, i just want to say first off, thank you. Quite simply, the world needs more people like you. Now as for my question; I don't know how close you got to the blast afterwards, but what was the kind of damage around where it went off? Again, thank you so much for just being the person you are and making the choice to stay and help :)

I never got closer than half a block in, it simply didn't make sense. There were some broken windows though in the area.

What was your initial reaction to the explosion?

Nothing. It didn't register as an explosion.

What's a sound most people are familiar with that you think most closely resembles an explosion?

Imagine dropping a very large and heavy textbook from several feet up onto a hardwood floor.

How did the police react upon arrival? Did they allow people to simply walk away are was there areas where people were questioned upon leaving? Thanks for helping and glad you are safe.

They did a great job of getting the area clear asap, their immediate priority after the second explosion was to clear the area and help people.

Anything you heard about the Marathon on the news that wasn't true?

I haven't been watching much, but no, not yet.

did you run in and help anyone?

I was too far away for it to make sense for me to run in, there were amazing volunteers everywhere and everybody jumped in right where they were.

Who do you think is behind these attacks?

Somebody awful. The marathon is really a celebration of what we can do as humans, and it's terrible somebody decided to attack that.

How long did it take to clear the area?

Not long. It never got completely clear, but we got it empty enough within half an hour.

Beyond the people who were directly injured, how many people do you think will have emotional damage that may affect their lives? It is hard to see the scope of how many people really were in the area of the blast and had to witness this tragedy. Do you think this will affect your mentality for the rest of your life? Glad you are ok.

It's hard to tell this early on. The marathon is huge in Boston, and it's really going to affect the psyche of the city for years to come.

I'm not sure yet. I suspect this is a day I'll be thinking about for a while.

Thank you for being there to help as best as you could. This is such tragic news to wake up to, but I'm happy that you and many others are safe.

Was there any suspicious activity going on before the explosion? I'm truly confused as to why such an attack happened in the first place.

Not that I noticed. Marathons are really a celebration of what we can push the human body to do, and sadly, some people see that as an appealing target.

First of all, thank you. I live < 30 minutes away from Boston and went to the marathon last year, and all this seems so surreal. My question is, did the press get in people's way who were trying to help?

At times. There was one guy who wouldn't take no for an answer and ate up a lot of resources until we could get police to get him out of the way. On the other hand, there were members of the press who jumped right in and helped in the best ways possible.

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There were. We had a good few more scares with potential bombs being right near us, but I really just pushed it aside and kept working.

How intense was the overall atmosphere there after the bombs went off. And who won the race

Once everybody knew what was going on, it got focused really quickly. There were winners, I believe the men's elite winning time was 2:10:46

After reading all your answers, thank you for staying and helping people in any manner you could. People like you and emergency workers saved lives today.

Everybody did everything they could. Without the team effort and the incredible people, we couldn't have done it.