Canton High School Senior Discusses First Marathon Experience

It was a day of firsts for Canton High School senior Joe Sabatino, who ran his first Boston Marathon on Monday.

But despite the two explosions that left three dead and about 150 injured, Sabatino, 18, said he plans to run again next year.

Canton Patch spoke with Sabatino and asked him to share his story about the 2013 Boston Marathon.

Canton Patch: Was this your first marathon?

Sabatino: Yes, this was my first-ever marathon. I was running as a bandit which means I was an unofficial runner that waited for everybody who was registered to start and then began my run. I chose not to run in my very last season of track in order to do the marathon. I trained just as any other runner would for it and felt I was in great shape and condition to complete it.

Canton Patch: What was your first reaction when you heard what was happening at the finish line?

Sabatino: My first reaction to what had happened was fear. My parents were waiting at the finish line for me. I told them just before I began to run that I wanted them to stand on the right side of the course. Luckily, that was the opposite side of where the explosions occurred.

Passing by Boston College, I was running next to two New York police officers, who overheard Boston police talking about removing victims from the area. A woman right next to us had pulled out her iPhone and was talking to her friend. I asked, "What happened?" and they told me two bombs had gone off at the finish line.

At that point, I didn't know where it was exactly so immediately thought of my parents, who saw the whole thing with their own eyes (they were across the street and right in between the explosions) were affected by it. I immediately took out my phone and saw that I had two missed calls from my parents. I was unable to call them back because the police had shut off all communications for security purposes. I ran into another woman with an iPhone and she knew nothing else. Trying to call and text anybody I could, I was unable to run. After I heard that nobody could get calls through, I ran closer to the finish as fast as I could.

Canton Patch: How did you reach your parents after they shut off cell phone service?

Sabatino: My parents were at the finish line. They expected me to finish around 3 p.m. because of how my training went. However, for the first 10 miles, I was way below the pace I was aiming for (which means I was running faster) and would have finished around 2:45 p.m.

After the 10th mile, my stomach was empty and I had to make several bathroom stops and had to walk in order to eat the energy jelly beans and granola bars in my pocket. I finally reached my mom by using a BU student's iPhone that somehow got the call through. My mom realized it was me when I said, "Hi Mom, it's me, I'm using somebody else's phone right now."

I gave my address near the border of Brookline and Boston. At the intersection of Carlton and Beacon is where the marathon completely stopped and I could see the Citgo sign from there. I was receiving texts like crazy from my friends but was unable to respond to them because of the shut down cell service. I finally got a call from one of my friends and he told me that he was getting a ton of texts and saw that people were posting on my Facebook wall that they were praying that I was OK. I told him to post on my behalf that I was OK, so he did. I finally also got a text through to another friend that also posted I was OK. My sister finally reached me a few minutes later checking on me. She was able to get in touch with my parents.

Finally, my mom got through to my cell at 4:30 p.m. My mom and I were on the phone for almost 40 minutes until she found me. My mom, dad, and myself walked back to the car where we drove to Riverside to pick up my mom's car. We had to stop to get food because I had not had a legitimate meal since 5:30 in the morning and it was now 5:45 in the evening.

Canton Patch: What did you do during the time you were unable to reach your parents?

Sabatino: In between the time I heard about the bombs and made my first call to my mom from the BU student's phone, I just continued on the course until they fully stopped us.

At about Mile 23, an officer told us they the course was going to end in two miles. On the way, I grabbed a heat blanket from a medical tent. That was the only thing that kept me warm for the next two hours as I was wearing shorts and a tank top. I noticed some students had set up a TV outside in their courtyard and I stopped to watch. Within seconds, I got to see the replay of the explosions and I was so disturbed and afraid of what was happening, I just left and walked to where the course was ended. A few minutes later, I was able to make the first call to my mom. Until they found me, my actions consisted of trying to text and call whoever I could with cold hands. The BU students did give me some water. They were the real heroes of my day. Without their selfless help, I might not have found my parents for possibly another few hours. 

This was really the most stressful, nerve-racking, and by far, the scariest situation I have ever been in. Although I was not in the area for the explosions, being unable to contact anybody was my worst fear come true. My parents watched the explosions occur right in front of their eyes and watched several people run away in fear for their lives. 

Canton Patch: Will you run the Boston Marathon again?

Sabatino: After the tragic events of Monday, I plan on running the marathon next year and hope to raise money for a charity so I can earn an official number.