When Kara Goucher crossed the finish line at the Boston Marathon in 2013, she had no idea the most dramatic part of her day was yet to come.
Goucher is an elite runner who lives in Boulder who placed in sixth last year in Boston.
When the bombs went off, Goucher was safely in her hotel room with family but she heard the explosions.
“All of a sudden, this really loud boom happened and we felt it in our chests,” Goucher says. “It rattled the windows. We all just stared at each other and my son just locked eyes with me and I just started crying.”
While her family and close friends were not physically harmed, the attack has had a profound effect on Goucher and on her two-year-old son. Shortly after the marathon, Goucher started bringing him to therapy because he was acting out and wouldn't leave her side. And she says that while her son Colton, doesn't really understand what happened, he still brings it up sometimes.
Goucher says the attack stole their innocence—something she says usually happens to a child much older than two.
Today marks the one year anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombing. Runners on Monday will compete in the 2014 Boston Marathon and Goucher will be there but she isn’t running mainly due to an injury.
Goucher also says that while she expects to run the Boston Marathon again sometime in the future, she isn’t emotionally prepared to compete in the race this year.
