University of Louisville cross country/track and field head coach Ron Mann and former letterwinners Wesley Korir and Michael Eaton have confirmed they were not harmed by the explosions at the Boston Marathon and are currently safe in their respective hotels.
Korir, who won the 2012 Boston Marathon, finished fifth in this year’s race in 2:12:30. Eaton took part in the marathon for the first time in his career, completing the race in 2:36:32. He finished 175th overall, 135th in his division. Mann was attending the event as the personal head coach of the two runners.
Below are comments from cross country/track and field head coach Ron Mann.
Louisville Cross Country/Track and Field Head Coach Ron Mann
In regards to the blasts:
“We are fine, and we appreciate the support from everyone who has reached out to us. Our hotel is under lockdown right now. It’s about 50 meters from the finish line. We were in the lobby of the hotel, and interviews had just finished up. Wesley and Tarah (Wesley’s wife) went back to their room, and I went back to my room with my wife (Charlene). I was actually icing my leg on my bed, when I heard a loud boom and then another just a few seconds after that. I’m just terribly saddened with what’s transpired.
“Just a couple hours earlier, we were close to the VIP stands (on the opposite side of the street from the line of flags), which is pretty close to where the blasts seemed to come from.”
In regards to the races:
“Wesley took the lead at the 22-mile mark, and I thought he ran a very good race. The top three runners broke away and Jason Hartmann caught him. I thought with everything going on (outside of the race), he did a great job multi-tasking. I’m incredibly proud of what he did.
“Wesley has interviews tomorrow and he has to return to parliament in Kenya on April 21.”
“I thought Michael ran well for first 18 miles. The Boston Marathon has a tendency to humble people, and think Michael fell in that realm.”