Bolduc Family Safe, Was 40 Feet from Explosion

Michael Bolduc was just a half-mile away from the finish line when the bombs exploded at the Boston Marathon. His wife, Christina, had jumped in at the 20-mile mark to finish the race with him. 

This was the first marathon for Michael, 33, who was running for the Massachusetts General Department of Oncology; his son Matthew has leukemia.

Two of his three children -- Matthew, 6 and Joshua, 4 -- and his father were waiting for him at the finish line.

His mother and the Bolducs' infant were blocks away parking the car (the family had driven from the 20-mile mark to watch him cross the finish line).

"The kids and my father-in-law were just 40 feet away from where the bombs went off," said Christina on Tuesday. "The kids saw glass, they saw a lot of screaming...The whole thing is just awful."

Michael and Christina were just a half-mile away from the finish line when they were told the marathon was over.

"The first one [bomb] we heard, then the second one," recalls Christina. "I got my hands on a cell phone and called my mother-in-law who had my baby a couple blocks away and had gone to park the car.

Her father-in-law, Michael's father (Peter), was headed to the finish line with the young boys because they had received passes to the VIP seating area.

Her mother-in-law had not heard from the senior (Peter) Bolduc.

"Mike and I were in a huge panic," said Christina, who said they stayed still for a while and kept trying to call Bolduc's father but couldn't get through.

Michael's sister lives in Boston. They walked 45 minutes -- which was difficult for Michael after running 26 miles -- to his sister's house where the entire Bolduc family was reunited.  

There, Michael and Christina were told that their boys and Michael's father were walking toward the VIP stands (where they planned to sit) when the first bomb exploded. They froze in place. The second bomb went off. They ducked into a local market. Eventually, they also made their way to Michael's sister's house.

Today, the children continue to talk about their experience. Christina says they worry that something like that could happen in Medfield. She is trying to calm their fears.

"It's just very, very, very sad for all the families," she said, noting that the majority of runners in the 10:40 a.m. wave were charity runners including Michael.

She said the Massachusetts General Oncology team is still missing three people.