For 25 miles, Jamie Merriman said she didn’t feel anything different while running the Boston Marathon Monday - until she turned right onto Hereford Street, a mile from the finish.
That’s about where Merriman, a 54-year-old from Hot Springs, was when her 2013 Boston Marathon ended so abruptly a year ago when two bombs went off near the marathon’s finish line.
Three were killed in the attacks, 264 more were injured and Merriman’s race came to a stunning, incomplete ending.
“When I came to that spot, where I had gotten stopped last year, the emotions were unbelievable,” Merriman said. “I felt like I was going to explode.”
But Merriman kept going, and when she reached the final stretch on Boylston Street she saw the crowd - reports said there were about 1 million spectators - giving her the adrenalin to finish strong with a final time of 4 hours, 14 minutes, 46 seconds.
It wasn’t Merriman’s best Boston Marathon finsher, but her fourth finish-line experience wasn’t about setting a personal record.
“It was about a whole lot more than my time,” she said.
Merriman was one of five Arkansans who didn’t finish last year’s marathon because of the bombings and four of them returned for Monday’s do-over.
Forty-eight runners from Arkansas and several others with connections to Arkansas completed the race, including four who ran last year but didn’t get a chance to finish: Merriman, Pine Bluff’s Julie Bridgforth, Fort Smith’s Mary Jo Brinkman and Little Rock’s Jeff J. Glasbrenner.
Brinkman, 72, finished 14th in her age division at 5:21:59; Glasbrenner, 41, who has a prosthetic right leg, finished in 6:12:28 for 17th in the mobility impaired division and Bridgforth, 63, finished in 4:33:43.
Two former Arkansas Razorbacks who no longer reside in Arkansas - Josphat Boit and Scott MacPherson - were among the top 20 overall finishers in the race.
Merriman said there was little talk about last year’s race among runners gathering near the starting line. She said most were upbeat, and the attitude was like any other marathon she had run.
The only way anyone would realize this race was different was the heightened security. Merriman said runners had to put their belongings in clear plastic bags, and show their bibs at least six different points before reaching the starting line.
Then, in the early stages of the race that take runners through less populated areas, she noticed security personnel while eyeing wooded areas just off the road.
Conditions were a little too warm for her liking Monday, but Merriman pulled through. She said hearing the estimated 1 million spectators cheer the runners heading down the final few yards gave her an extra kick to the finish.
“It was quite emotional,” she said. “It was a good feeling, giving me a little bit of extra energy.”Arkansas finishers
A look at Arkansans who finished Monday’s Boston Marathon, with overall place, half-marathon time, finish time, sex and age division order of finish:
MEN
PL. NAME, HOMETOWN AGE HALF FINAL MALE DIV.
1013 John M. Pankey, Hot Springs 50 1:25:18 2:50:43 960 24
1277 Matt F. Martin, Bella Vista 34 1:25:56 2:53:22 1208 944
1287 Will Berry, Russellville 36 1:27:24 2:53:27 1217 950
2374 David Reidy, Fayetteville 22 1:28:01 3:00:02 2243 1607
2379 Dave Weston, Bentonville 42 1:25:57 3:00:03 2247 348
2621 Christopher P. Moutos, Little Rock 22 1:19:32 3:01:36 2472 1734
3948 Shawn Husband, Bentonville 43 1:34:51 3:09:04 3627 650
4856 Phil Davison, North Little Rock 31 1:29:03 3:13:12 4362 2597
6146 Jason A. Barker, De Queen 44 1:34:44 3:18:49 5312 1049
8512 Quinn D. Robertson, Springdale 21 1:28:19 3:27:29 6770 3249
10038 David B. Mackenzie, Hot Springs 61 1:41:56 3:32:22 7608 72
10345 Jim B. Tadel, Monticello 57 1:41:32 3:33:25 7752 361
12917 Steven Mudgett, Fayetteville 57 1:34:45 3:41:38 8964 605
13388 Ray Rego, Little Rock 50 1:43:09 3:43:17 9166 1261
13510 Alan Freeland, Searcy 45 1:39:19 3:43:39 9210 1731
13522 Eric Brock, Maumelle 29 1:30:51 3:43:41 9217 3718
14311 David H. McCormick, Dardanelle 59 1:43:25 3:46:27 9549 713
14899 Randy E. Vest, Ozark 62 1:44:50 3:48:31 9799 213
16789 David L. Rutlen, North Little Rock 67 1:48:59 3:55:15 10589 64
18480 Jerry E. Hester, Conway 69 1:54:50 4:01:56 11339 101
21116 Lance Porter, West Fork 48 1:55:56 4:15:47 12466 2261
25848 Paul A. Lufkin, Rogers 36 2:14:32 4:48:00 14670 4971
26814 Jeff Necessary, Fort Smith 53 2:04:57 4:56:03 15143 2169
27233 Frederic Spies Jr., Fayetteville 61 2:15:46 4:59:52 15349 899
31255 Jeff J. Glasbrenner*, Little Rock 41 2:42:09 6:12:28 17270 2594
31257 Richard C. Madison*, Little Rock 39 2:42:09 6:12:29 17272 5832
31258 Andre Slay*, Little Rock 32 2:42:08 6:12:30 17273 5833
WOMEN
PL. NAME, HOMETOWN AGE HALF FINAL FEMALE DIV.
3335 Tiffany J. Redlarczyk, Fayetteville 29 1:32:16 3:05:42 235 199
6336 Emily A. Franks, Centerton 27 1:38:00 3:19:30 888 702
6704 Abrena H. Rine, Springdale 32 1:34:12 3:21:01 1016 802
7074 Jamie L. Rogers, Fort Smith 26 1:41:16 3:22:29 1152 904
7229 E. Corinna Soto, De Queen 32 1:37:07 3:22:59 1212 942
10877 Jenny Wilkes, Little Rock 31 1:45:14 3:35:09 2863 2072
11258 Tish K. Pace, Judsonia 39 1:42:45 3:36:24 3059 2187
11459 Alison M. McGrimley, Little Rock 26 1:46:50 3:36:59 3164 2244
11918 Caitlin M. Anderson, Little Rock 25 1:51:47 3:38:24 3416 2386
12126 Kayla Waldrup, Bentonville 27 1:41:57 3:39:04 3529 2443
12730 Wendi M. Brandt, Harrison 39 1:44:54 3:41:01 3849 2625
14381 Deborah J. Lashley, Fort Smith 54 1:47:39 3:46:42 4805 261
15888 Cortney Allison, Little Rock 48 1:49:21 3:52:11 5670 780
18281 Jaime M. Gile, Fayetteville 23 1:51:17 4:00:55 7030 3884
20422 Jenni J. Pustinger, Rogers 50 1:47:57 4:11:56 8262 760
20944 Jamie S. Merriman, Hot Springs 54 1:55:50 4:14:46 8553 800
21453 Alison A. Acott, Little Rock 39 1:58:20 4:17:49 8838 4479
22744 Christine Coutu, Little Rock 50 1:52:57 4:25:38 9521 957
24005 Julie Bridgforth, Pine Bluff 63 2:04:27 4:33:43 10193 156
27933 Noel J. Knecht, Bentonville 45 2:19:26 5:08:15 12234 2030
29014 Mary Jo Brinkman, Fort Smith 72 2:18:52 5:21:59 12786 14
*Mobility impaired
Sports, Pages 21 on 04/22/2014