Running Again: Karen Corburn Was 6 Blocks Away When the Bombs Went Off

She and her sister didn’t hear the bombs go off, but many spectators around them did. Karen Corburn was six blocks away from the finish line, running the Boston Marathon in 2013 to raise money for the Natick Education Foundation.

“We were stopped on the course at Comm. Ave and Mass. Ave,” said Corburn, “and at first we were told to wait as they may re-open the finish line, but then the second bomb went off, so we knew that wasn’t happening. We were all waiting for about 15 minutes until they told us to disperse and not stay in big crowds.”

She didn’t have a cell phone on her, but borrowed a spectator’s, quickly calling her family in Natick to tell them she and her sister were OK. The lines were clogged, so she logged on to her Facebook page to post an update.

“Come to find out, a lot of people were looking for us and texting our phones (which were at home) so I am glad that I did that,” she said. “Eventually we got my sister’s boyfriend on the phone and he said he was able to drive to Cambridge so we walked over the bridge to meet him and he took us back to Natick. I think it really hit hard when we were driving on the Mass Pike back to Natick and armored tanks were driving into Boston. That’s when we realized how serious it was. All I wanted to do was get back to my husband and 1 year old daughter (Kayla) and hug them.”

Corburn added that some of her family members had originally planned to cheer at the finish line, and opted to stay home.

“I didn’t watch the news for days after that as I couldn’t put my head around what had happened,” she said. “My sister lived down the street from the shootout in Watertown and was on lockdown that day, so all of this was all too close. I haven’t followed the trial at all, but only hope that the verdict can bring some closure or peace to those directly affected by that day.”

Like many others, she didn’t get to finish the race in 2013.

The Boston Athletic Association gave everyone who didn’t finish the race entry into the 2014 Marathon, but Corburn was due to have her second daughter and running it wasn’t an option.

This year, it is. Corburn is running in “honor of some special friends and family,” raising funds for the Dana Farber Cancer Institute.

“I have had my grandfather pass away from cancer, an uncle who has recently had his second bone marrow transplant for leukemia, and an amazing friend fighting breast cancer for the third time in seven years,” said Corburn. “So to say that this charity is close to my heart is a bit of an understatement.”

This will be Corburn’s fourth marathon, including 2013’s race, and she’s done many more triathlons than marathons. With the young ones at home, she wedges in short runs during their nap times, and is “realistic in my plan that I knew I couldn’t run four or five days like most runners, as I needed to balance my training with work and motherhood.”

Corburn was born and raised in Natick, graduating from Natick High in 1999, after which she went to Cornell University. She’s lived in Portsmouth, San Francisco and now New York City.

“I am so excited to finally get across that finish line in less than two weeks,” she said, “and even more excited to run through Natick again with the amazing crowds. I grew up watching this race on 135 and I am set on crossing the finish line in 2015!”