Oklahoma Runners Witness Explosions At Boston Marathon

A number of Oklahomans were running in the Boston Marathon including a professor from Oklahoma State University who was near the finish line when the explosions happened.

OSU Professor Phil Kenkel says this was the first time he had qualified for the Boston Marathon. He's one of 86 Oklahomans who made the trip to Boston to run in the marathon.

Kenkel says he saw an explosion in front of him by the finish line. He says he thought it was a canon celebrating runners as they crossed the finish line, then he saw people scrambling from the scene and realized something was wrong.

4/15/2013 Related Story: Two Confirmed Dead In Explosions At Boston Marathon Finish Line

As he was wondering what he should do, the second explosion went off right beside him.

"It had a smell more like a firecracker, it had a like a black power smell," he said. "There were obviously people lining the street, and when I looked over there I didn't see anybody injured or hurt, but I obviously saw groups of people that were there who had been knocked down.

"The buildings weren't destroyed but obviously a lot of the glass was down."

Another OSU professor - Matt Bowler - also ran in today's race. He was not injured and is safe.

Ron Winn and Gina Seyller - two Tulsa running friends - told us they had just crossed the finish line when the explosions took place. They were in shock, but thankful they weren't injured.

Gina actually crossed the finish line before Ron. She says she would have been waiting for Ron in the area of the first explosion but decided to start heading back to the hotel room.

That's when she heard the explosions.

"It could have been anybody that was out there and here on a day when people are out doing good and running, it's supposed to be a happy day and you see all these people getting hurt," Gina said.