A Curry School Dean and several Virginia students who ran in Monday’s Boston Marathon are safe after two bombs exploded simultaneously at the finish line just before 3 p.m. Monday, killing three and injuring more than 100 people.
Mark Hampton, who serves as the Curry School’s Senior Associate Dean for Administration, finished the 26.2 mile race at 1:53:02 p.m. according to the marthon’s official website. A tweet from fellow Curry professor Michael Kennedy confirmed that Hampton escaped harm:
<a href="https://twitter.com/uvadeanj">uvadeanj</a>
cavdailysports I heard from Mark Hampton from the<a href="https://twitter.com/uvacurry">uvacurry</a> he is OK.</p>— Michael Kennedy (
KManXC) April 15, 2013
Additionally, several posts on the Virginia Club Cross Country team’s private Facebook group confirmed that University undergraduate students Lauren Benoit, Sarah Sisson, Caroline Gecker and Zack Garcia are safe after running the marathon.
Fourth-year Nursing student Mary Nelson also competed and finished at 1:50:48 p.m.. According to WVIR-TV NBC 29 in Charlottesville, she heard the explosions after completing the race:
UVA student Mary Nelson finished race 20 mins before hearing explosions.“It sounded like something really big something falling or a cannon”
— NBC29 (@NBC29) April 15, 2013
Meanwhile, Virginia volunteer cross country coach Rob Watson — who finished 11th in a blazing time of 2:15:33 — was eating lunch with his brother, head coach Pete Watson, near the finish line when he heard the blast:
Spoke to #UVa xcountry coach Pete Watson, whose brother Rob 11th at Boston. They were eating lunch 200 meters away when bombs went off.
— David Teel (@DavidTeelatDP) April 16, 2013
Other University faculty whom credible sources have verified as safe include Scott Adams, an IT specialist at the Batten School; Brian Hoard, an Associate Professor of Dentistry; and George Rich, an Anesthesiologist and Professor of Biomedical Engineering.
As of late Monday night, authorities continued to search for the parties responsible for what the White House deemed “an act of terror.”
UPDATE: After a cross-search of Boston Marathon entrants from Charlottesville and people listed in the University directory, we can confirm that the following students and faculty, in addition to those listed above, ran at least part of the race this morning: Jennifer Abelin, graduate student (GSAS); Phil Curran, graduate student; Jacqueline Gannon, undergraduate student (CLAS); Yardley Montague, Curry School staff; Deric Park, Associate Professor of Neurological Surgery; James Ryan, Professor of Law; and Katie Ryan, Professor of Law.
Again, we are seeking any information on these runners’ safety.