Steve Arce, a Malibu resident and experienced runner who ran in Monday’s Boston Marathon for the third consecutive year, was not harmed in two deadly explosions near the race’s finish line. The explosions killed two people and injured as many as 100 others.
In a telephone interview with The Malibu Times, the 48-year-old co-owner of 9026-Eyes in Malibu said he and two of his running companions finished the race about an hour before two homemade devices exploded in Boston.
“We didn’t know what had happened, so one of my running mates’ husband called her and told her,” Arce said. “We got back to the hotel and it was all over the TV, and we were like, ‘Oh my god, we just ran by the same spot an hour earlier.'”
Another Malibu resident, Christopher Eldridge, 24, was reportedly registered for the Boston Marathon this year.
Speaking on his cell phone from Boston’s Logan Airport runway, Arce said in the aftermath of the bombings, he wasn’t sure whether he and his friends would make their flight home to LAX.
“By the time we were leaving the hotel, every exit going into downtown Boston was blocked off,” Arce said. “But we didn’t have any trouble getting to the airport. I figured the safest place to be would be on the safe side of security at the airport.”Â
His flight was expected to land at LAX at 12 a.m. on Tuesday morning.
Going into the race, Arce described a fun, energetic and crowded environment of runners ready to compete and finish.
“It was the perfect day in Boston, everybody’s spirits were high, the weather was perfect,” he said.
Arce and his running mates, Melissa Hernandez and Adam Rossi of Oxnard, agreed that this year’s unfortunate events would not deter them from running the Boston Marathon in future years.
“We’re all in consensus that we’d do it again,” Arce said.Â
Information on Eldridge was not immediately available, but check back with malibutimes.com as this story unfolds. Did you know anyone who participated in this year’s race? Email us and share your story: melissa@malibutimes.com