3 Weeks After Terrorist Attack, Man Finishes Boston Marathon
WEST HARRISON, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- A Boston marathon runner who was pulled from the course, following last month's terror attack, was finally able to finish the race on Friday.
With hundreds on hand in West Harrison to cheer him on, Ty Powers, 44, legged out the remaining steps of the marathon that he never finished.
Powers was at Samuel Preston Elementary to finish the last half-mile of the race. Students at Preston raised more than $3,000 and were on hand to watch Powers run his final lap.
Powers told CBS 2's Lou Young that a woman delivered the news to him as he approached the finish line back on April 15.
"She had tears in her eyes and she asked me if I knew what had happened and I said 'how bad is it?' And she said 'it's bad,'" he explained. "I stopped my watch at 25.6 miles so I was for all practical purposes, I was right there. I was going to finish. Euphoria to anxiety and then you mix a little exhaustion in there, too. You're a mess, just all over the place at that point."
Powers was running the marathon for the Dena Farber Cancer Institute. His father died from the disease and his wife was recently diagnosed. He said the race meant a lot to him.
Jeremy Butler, Powers' best friend, is the principal at Samuel Preston Elementary School. His students were rooting for Powers when he started the race, and on friday they got to see him finish.
"Being someone who was a teacher here when 9/11 happened, I know from experience, sometimes from great tragedy, moments of beauty can come," Butler told CBS 2.
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