Local Boston Marathon Runner Jeff Thomas Says He Found Out About Explosions from Friend in Bossier City

A day after the terrible tragedy that struck the 2013 Boston Marathon, Tim Fletcher received a call from Jeff Thomas, a Bossier City resident who finished the race not long before two explosions killed three and wounded more than 100.

Thomas completed the Boston Marathon just minutes before the tragedy took place and said he was in a state of shock along with everyone else once word of the explosions got around.

"After I finished, I made my way down there [to change clothes], changed clothes and everything," said Thomas. "The explosions actually [occurred] 30 minutes after I finished."

When asked if he could hear the explosions, he said, "You know, we were talking about that. And, you really couldn't tell. There were so many noises. We probably did, but didn't think it was anything."

Tim asked Thomas when it became clear when something went wrong.

"We went back to the hotel to change, and a friend in Bossier called me and asked if I was okay. And, I had no idea what he was talking about," Thomas admitted. "He said 'turn on the TV,' and we turned it on. Our hotel was less than two blocks away, so that's how I found out. We were trying to check Facebook. Eventually, they turned off cell service here because they were scared that could set off other bombs."

When asked about the other runners from Shreveport and Bossier City who ran in the marathon, Thomas said, "From what I've heard, there were two or three [runners] who didn't finish. And, I'm not sure which ones...There were some I didn't know personally, I know their names. But, I know they're okay."

Thomas also explained what he did  and how he felt after hearing the terrible news. "You hear everything from hotels being evacuated, you're hoping it's not yours," he said. "They tell you not to go anywhere, not to leave. We just watched the news. That's basically what we did. And of course, later on we got to go out and eat, and the hotels were packed. So, we did walk out, but almost everything was closing early. Everyone just pretty much stayed in their hotels."

"Everybody was dazed. Everyone's walking around shaking their heads. And then, everybody's mad. There's more people mad now that some idiot would do something like this," Thomas said.

Tim asked him if due to the tragedy this would be the last marathon he would run, Thomas said no. "I will do it. In fact, I planned for this to be my last Boston Marathon because I've done two. I can't wait to come back [to Boston]."

Listen to the rest of Tim Fletcher's interview with Jeff Thomas below: