Barrington Marathon Runner Tells of Mixed Emotions

Barrington 220 art teacher Tom Root was fortunate to have already left the site for Cambridge by the time the bombs hit the Boston Marathon.   

Tom Root, 26, and a a BHS 2004 graduate, finished the marathon well before the explosions. He said he lingered in the area for some time and then took the bus to Cambridge and stopped for a slice of pizza.

“People kept asking if I was OK. I said 'I was glad it was a tough race,' ” Tom recalled. Soon he discovered the tragedy at the Boston Marathon site.

“I was lucky to get out of there just in time and not to be affected,” he said.

Tom said the events have been hard to process.

“Marathons are such positive and joyous events . . . it’s unreal; the positivity from people just radiates, especially this race where you have to qualify,” Tom said.  He said he was elated to have finished his first Boston Marathon. 

“Then I was stunned. It’s such a strange mixed feeling to be joyous you finished and then not really know how to feel, whether you should be happy anymore,” he said. 

He said it wasn’t until this morning that he started to congregate with some of the other runners and see some smiles on their faces.

“We started to congregate and  tell stories and you were starting to see people smiling, a little bit of letting themselves be joyful through the experience,” he said.

“It struck me that this horrific tragedy couldn’t completely overshadow the joy of event,” Tom said.   

Tom reported he has spoken with a couple of other Barrington Boston Marathon runners.

He said he ran the first 15 miles with Timothy Mcauliff, a BHS graduate. 

“His dad and him were staying in hotel a few blocks away and he said he actually felt the boom,” Tom said.

He also saw Mallory Meyer, of Lake Barrington, and that she was fine. 

Tom said he was touched by all the texts and Facebook messages from people back home checking to see if he was alright. 

“It was incredible how many people knew or figured out I was running and how quickly they got in touch,” he said. 

Tom finished the Boston Marathon in 3:32:20.

 

 

Editors note: The article was changed to correct that Tom Root teaches at Barrington 220, but not the high school.