Thanks again everyone! We are back home safe on Canadian soil once again.
:lol: thanks :-) Needless to say it was a crazy day. I was about 800m from the finish line getting ready for my final push through the home stretch but then they started to set up a perimeter around the explosions. Those of us continuing to come in were stopped and were told that the race had been shut down. It continued to get congested as we started to bunch up and had no clue what was going on. It was difficult for us to get anywhere because the finishing chute actually stretched out for a few kilometers from the actual finish line with fences and spectators on either side. All we could hear around us were sirens. Eventually I made my way out of the chute and asked a random spectator what was going on and they told me something happened at the finish line. Information was spares because in that area the cell towers were flooded so I had no cell service at all for quite a while. News eventually spread through the thick crowd and panic and chaos set in. All the while emergency vehicles were continuing to poor into the area, roads were being blocked off, thousands of tired (we had just run 41Km), dazed and confused marathons were wandering around wondering WTF was going on.

I slowly made my way out of the downtown core around various detours and as I cleared the congestion of the cell towers my phone started to go crazy with text messages, FB messages, voicemails, emails. I was finally able to get a hold of my wife whom thankfully was not waiting for me at the finish line. She had crossed well ahead of me and was waiting for me at a park a block from the finish line when the bombs went off.

Anyway, I spent the rest of the day catching up with everyone who was concerned and assuring them that we were OK. All the bomb talk was getting a little crazy and I needed to switch gears and take a break from it all so I decided to check into Canreef to answer some tank/fish related PMs that I had waiting for me.

Such a sad day. Incomprehensible.

Was a huge relief when you finally answered our texts. (Sorry that we added to the flurry of phone notifications...)

No worries Tony! It was actually quite comforting to get in touch with everyone. In the midst of all that sadness and chaos it brought me warm feelings to know that so many of my friends were concerned, cared and reached out.

You would have actually got that hug from me you have been trying to steal my friend if I was in town :lol:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa...re-cooker.html

Sounds like an arrest has been made, suspect in custody!

Kien, I am happy to see you post and glad you are home safe and sound! I can only imagine how terrible this experience was for you, your wife and family/friends as this all unfolded!

It is absolutely sickening what the outcome for those injured and families of those killed will now have to endure!

Looks like swift justice will prevail!!!

Glad to hear you were a little slow that day Keiner, and that you and your wife are safe and sound

Better look again

Wow! So sorry for that! They had reported an arrest had been made.

This was a little bit what it was like on the ground multiplied by a factor of 100. There was so little information that it was easy to get misinformation! I heard so many conflicting reports and stories about what happened from different people. The only fact that I could believe was 1. The race that I was running in was abruptly closed and something happened at the finish line. Panic and chaos!

While not at all the same as what you've been through, we were staying at the Monte Carlo in Vegas a few years ago when the fire broke out on the roof. Lots of chaos and inaccurate reporting by the media for hours until the smoke cleared and the investigators could get in to check things out.

I know better than to post stuff like this....:redface: