[Updated] West Hartford's Fleet Feet Reaching Out to Boston Marathon Runners

[Updated] 6:10 p.m.

Fleet Feet owner Steph Blozy and her associates have been working to track down store customers and staffers who were part of today's Boston Marathon.

"Everyone we know associated with the store is safe," Blozy said just before 6 p.m. Monday. She said that the staffers had all finished the race and were out of the area, and the charity runners were not yet at the finish line and were pulled off the course.

"It sounds like mostly spectators and volunteers were affected. It really makes you afraid," said Blozy.

Officials stopped the race following two explosions that reportedly left two dead and dozens injured.

[Updated] 5:40 p.m.

So far the reports we have received about West Hartford runners and spectators who were in Boston today are positive.

State Sen. Beth Bye said that her former husband Gareth Bye, who was one of the registrants, had dropped out because of a stress fracture.

Seth Oriol (the regular training partner of this Patch editor's husband) also did not run today because of an injury.

Vito Iacovazzi finished in 3:45 and was safely away from the scene according to a Facebook post.

Mike Alquist is also safe but is stuck in Boston with his family. Tom Whalen has also been reported to be safe according to Facebook.

Dan Benshoff is safe and accounted for according to an email.

Original Story

Fleet Feet Sports in West Hartford has been reaching out to its many customers running Monday's Boston Marathon to ensure their safety after reports of two explosions at the finish line occurred approximately four hours after the start of the race.

"We have reached out to our customers and regulars and so far all are okay," said Fleet Feet employee Chaz Koch. He said they had used social media to try to gather as much information as possible. 

As of 4:30 p.m., Fleet Feet had heard back from 50 or 60 of their customers, Koch said. "All have been okay so far. We have our fingers crossed," he said.

According to the results page of the Boston Marathon website, 14 West Hartford runners finished today's race. Based on the data, eight others appeared to still have been running when the explosions occurred since their half marathon splits are displayed. The other seven registrants did not post split times and likely did not start the race or dropped out very early.

Koch said that Fleet Feet staffer Andrew Judd was watching at the finish line and called the store shortly after the explosion to tell them to turn on the TV. "He was standing about 50 to 100 feet away and said there were two explosions and he wasn't sure what it was," Koch said of the call from Judd.

Many other West Hartford residents were in Boston watching the race, including students who attend the many area colleges. One report on Facebook said that the Prudential Center shook from the explosion.

Back Bay Patch has been providing continuous updates from law enforcement agencies and other reliable sources.

Did you know anyone from West Hartford running or watching the Boston Marathon. Have you heard from them? Tell us in the comments.