Crescent Township Woman Safe in Boston After Running Marathon

Jo Rupp of Crescent Township crossed the Boston Marathon finish line with a friend, Moira Davenport of Shadyside, just moments before two explosions occurred there Monday.

Rupp, who was about two blocks away when the explosions went off at 2:50 p.m., said she and Davenport had parted ways after finishing. Rupp had gone to the family area and was in Boston Commons when the noise of the first explosion startled the crowd.

"I didn't see anything," she told Patch Monday evening. "I only heard it."

She was standing next to a police officer, and among others in the area were runners wrapped in the heatsheets they use after finishing a lengthy run. Rupp said she could see the shock on people's faces as they looked around as though they were thinking, "Wow, what was that?"

Because the officer appeared busy, she eventually found another policeman and got directions so she could locate her hotel. She said, initially, no one panicked where she was, but she sensed it was best to return to her hotel.

"I needed to let my family and friends know I was okay," Rupp said, noting that people were having trouble getting calls in and out.

At the same time, she was very worried about Davenport. Rupp said she thought perhaps Davenport, who is an emergency room trauma doctor at Allegheny General Hospital, might have stayed on the scene. 

"We finished side by side," she said, admitting to a "little breakdown" when she was unable to find her friend.

She eventually contacted Davenport, who also practices sports medicine and has worked with the Baldwin-Whitehall athletic program. Fortunately, Rupp said, Davenport was safe with friends.

Rupp, who just turned 40, plans to remain at her hotel, choosing safety over the barbecue dinner she had hoped to have tonight after the race. She said the Boston police commissioner had recommended that people not go out into the street crowds.

In 2010, Rupp ran the Pittsburgh Marathon after a bomb scare that turned out to be a microwave oven. But Monday's explosions in Boston were not something she ever expected to encounter.

"You don't expect that here," she said. "This is senseless."

Rupp and Davenport run with the Pittsburgh Pharoah Hounds. All club members who ran the marathon had been accounted for and were safe, Rupp said.

"We're all okay and hopefully will be home soon," she said. "But I'm sad for the families of (the victims) and I'm keeping them in my thoughts."

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