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| Boston Marathon runner Owain Griffiths speaks of 'unthinkable horror' | Boston Marathon runner Owain Griffiths speaks of 'unthinkable horror' |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A runner from Wales has spoken of the "unthinkable horror" after being caught up in two explosions near the finishing line of the Boston Marathon. | A runner from Wales has spoken of the "unthinkable horror" after being caught up in two explosions near the finishing line of the Boston Marathon. |
| Owain Griffiths, 37, from Cyncoed in Cardiff, was half a mile from the finish when the blasts happened. | Owain Griffiths, 37, from Cyncoed in Cardiff, was half a mile from the finish when the blasts happened. |
| Army marshals rapidly diverted him and fellow runners, ordering them back to their hotels. | Army marshals rapidly diverted him and fellow runners, ordering them back to their hotels. |
| Mr Griffiths, who was running his 49th marathon, told BBC Wales he felt "very, very lucky". | Mr Griffiths, who was running his 49th marathon, told BBC Wales he felt "very, very lucky". |
| The property consultant said: "There was a group of us all staying at the same hotel and all running at a similar type of pace but I was a bit off the pace, not feeling great, and so just behind them all. | |
| "I was half a mile from the finish line when the bombs went off. I don't usually wear my phone but I had headphones in listening to music so I couldn't hear anything. | |
| "Army marshals stopped us and thousands of runners were piling up behind me. They diverted us off the course. | |
| "Pretty much straight away I started getting texts as the news started filtering through - two bombs had gone off." | |
| Before the phone network was shutdown, Mr Griffiths was able to phone his brother back in the UK to let him know he was safe. | |
| He said: "One of my friends, Felicity, who is from Reading, was 200 metres from the finishing line when the bombs went off. | |
| 'Very, very lucky' | |
| "So she was right there and saw it. She rang me after to tell me she was safe and how lucky she was. | |
| "She said she saw the explosions and didn't know what to do. She was terrified, she didn't know whether to keep on running but she ran onto the pavement and was pulled to safety by a really nice family who took her away from the area." | |
| Mr Griffiths managed to contact his other friends - Emma Davies, Matt Bauer and Stuart Trimby. | |
| He said: "Emma had finished and collected her medal when they went off and then she just ran away from there. Matt was OK but Stu was unaccounted for, which was a real worry but we eventually found him and he was OK." | |
| The friends were told by police to return to their hotel and stay there. | |
| Mr Griffiths said: "We could hear ambulances and police cars - it was really upsetting. This is my 49th marathon and I've run Boston before, what was meant to be a day of enjoyment turned into one of an unthinkable horror show. | |
| "There was just a state of total confusion and shock." | |
| Mr Griffiths was due to fly back to the UK on Tuesday night. | |
| He said: "I just want to get home now. I feel so lucky, very lucky. Normally I'm all out and sprinting towards the finish line and had I been a bit quicker I may have been caught up in the bombs. | |
| "I'm very saddened this morning to hear about the injuries and the little boy. It's a day I will never forget." |