Swampscott Marathon Runners Respond

Swampscott police officer Kevin Reen finished running the Boston Marathon 10-15 minutes before the explosions Monday and felt one of the blasts.

It was the third Boston marathon he and his brother, Brendan, also a Swampscott police officer, had run.

On Monday, the tragedy was too fresh in his mind.

"This hurts," he said in an email. "Hard to handle."

Thursday, reflecting on the explosions, the father of two chidren was more angry than anything. But also thankful his wife and children had not been at the finish line. They had been in Newton, at the hills, to see him run.

On Saturday, in the wake of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's capture, the Swampscott officer felt pride and reassurance.

"It was the ultimate depiction of teamwork," he said. "The public trusted law enforcement and the PDs were able to complete the task."

For Swampscott runner Stephanie Lannon — Monday's race was her first marathon. The fugitive's capture Friday brought relief, but only somewhat.

" ... it still doesn't heal what happened," she said. 

Nonetheless, Stephanie, a personal trainer at the YMCA in Marblehead, said she will run another marathon. It may not be next year, and it may not be Boston, but she will run another.

Swampscott runner Mike Falco has run eight marathons. Two of them were Boston.

He said he may not run next year's Boston Marathon because he did not re-qualify.

But he may run another marathon this year, and if his time qualifies him for Boston, he will run it again.

And Kevin Reen said he must run Boston again. And again. 

"And as many as I can!" he said.