Also, George Nietert, 60, of Valparaiso, a teacher in the Winamac Schools, participated in the marathon. He finished with a time of 3:47:26.

Bailey's and Haschel's Stories

The Bailey family was able to get word home to relatives within a few minutes of the explosions to say they were okay. Bailey, with his wife Dawn and their four daughters, were in a restaurant two blocks away when the bombs exploded. Bailey's sister, Juleen Henderson, reported Monday night that the family was on its way back to Winamac.

Glenn Bailey of Winamac visits the finish line of the Boston Marathon on Sunday, before he took part in the race on Monday

In a telephone interview Tuesday afternoon with PulaskiPost, Bailey said they didn't hear the explosions due to the noise in the restaurant. But soon after" people began coming in saying there had been an explosion, that something was wrong" and to change the televisions to the news. "Then it got really quiet," Bailey said. "You could hear a pin drop."

Within 15 minutes the text messages started arrive from home, asking the family members if they were okay. "The girls started tweeting and texting friends and family back home to tell them there had been a bomb explosion, but that they were fine." Bailey said they had cell phone service most of the time.

The family soon left for their nearby hotel where their car was parked. They learned that one of the train lines was shut down. At first they heard they might not be able to leave the city, but soon hotel staff told them they could leave and at 5:30 p.m., they began the drive back to Indiana.

Bailey said he and Haschel were in the first wave of the race. "Thank God we were in with the faster runners," he said. His wife and daughters were not at the finish line, but just before it, around the corner at the Mile 26 marker. But the day before they had visited the finish line site and took photos there.

To finish the marathon was "awesome," Bailey said, and acknowledged that the famous "heartbreak hill" was "tough." But he added he hadn't realized how much downhill there was in the course and "that hurt me more, I think."

Bailey also said that Monday morning had begun as a perfect day for running. "It was sunny, cool, no wind. It couldn't have been a better day. Afterward I thought, what a way to end a perfect day. I have never been that close to some sort of national tragedy. On the way home, we heard the President talk on the radio and we realized this was a major news event."

Tuesday morning, in an earlier phone interview, Haschel said he had finished the race and was on a bus on the way back to his hotel in a town about 40 minutes outside Boston when he received his first text message "asking if we we're alright. I didn't know what it meant."

Several similar texts soon followed. Haschel's mother Connie and girlfriend Emily had accompanied him to Boston, but stayed behind at the hotel to watch the marathon on television.

"We were well away from the danger," Haschel said. "But this morning we've been thinking, Wow, it's really sad. The atmosphere in this race is different. The locals and volunteers are so proud of this race, so happy. And as far as marathons go, Boston's is well put together, it is run very smoothly."

The Haschels were driving back to Winamac on Tuesday.

It was the first time both Haschel and Bailey had run in the Boston Marathon.

283 Hoosiers run the race

The race began at 10 a.m., and the bomb explosions were reported just before 3 p.m., about 15 seconds apart.

Tuesday morning news reports said casualties included three deaths and over 140 persons being treated for injuries resulting from the bombs.

Marathon organizers reported that almost 27,000 runners competed, representing 96 countries. The runners start the race in waves, according to news reports. The winners were Lelisa Desisa of Ethiopia for the men in a time of 2:10:22, and Rita Jeptoo of Kenya for the women in a time of 2:26:25.

A total of 283 runners from Indiana took part in the race.

From the surrounding area, Marc Donahue of Monticello finished the marathon at 1:49 p.m., with a time of 3:43:00. Jami Holm, 36, of Plymouth finished with a time of 3:22:32 at 1:26 p.m. Paul Patrick, 44, also of Plymouth, completed the race with a time of 3:26:10, at 1:30 p.m.

Thousands of runners were still on the course at the time the bombs went off. Runners who had not yet finished the marathon were diverted off the route and into a family meeting area, according to a prior emergency plan that had been in place.

The Boston Marathon is a signature event for the city, and has been run since 1897 on Patriots Day, the third Monday in April - a holiday in Boston. Tens of thousands of spectators turn out each year to watch.

By Karen Clem Fritz