Still smarting from failing to finish his first Boston Marathon last year when a pair of bombs disrupted the race, Stillwater runner Mike Johnson had the 2014 finish line in sight Monday when he came to a sudden stop.
Struggling to stay on his feet was a man "whose legs weren't cooperating at all," Johnson said. Two other runners were already trying to help him.
"I saw that his name was Adam on his bib, and I asked, 'How are you doing?' " Johnson, 47, recalled Tuesday.
"I am going to finish," came the reply.
And finish he did, thanks to the strong backs and helping arms of Johnson and three other runners who carried the man about 200 yards down Boylston Street to just shy of the same finish line that was rocked by bomb blasts last year.
"We're going to get this guy in," Johnson recalls telling his fellow good Samaritans as they struggled down the street, two helpers grasping Adam's arms and two others taking his legs. Johnson said it was a struggle every step of the way, but the crowd provided a lift. "They were going nuts," he said.
The foursome was about to stop to get a better handle on Adam when the man announced he was getting on his feet. Near the memorial to the victims of last year's bombings and the bleachers packed with cheering fans, Adam staggered across the line under his own power.
Johnson crossed, too, and then broke down. "I was just caught up in all the emotion," he said. "It was just unbelievable. I don't even know what to say. It was just amazing."
