It may have happened 3,000 miles away, but the April 15 bombings at the Boston Marathon hit close to home for many in the Issaquah and Sammamish community.

Runner Kevin Bartholomae, one of 10 registered Boston Marathon competitors from Sammamish, said he and his wife were about a block away from where two explosions took place Monday morning.

“We came out of subway and people were talking about two explosions and everyone was moving quickly,” the 39-year-old told The Reporter via Twitter.

Bartholomae, who finished the race about an hour before chaos broke loose in the streets of Boston, said he witnessed a quick response by fire fighters and police officers.

Also running in the race was 55-year-old Sammamish resident Becky Backstrom.

Backstrom, who also crossed the line an hour earlier, told the Reporter over the phone Tuesday that she heard about the explosions from her mother, who was staying closer to the site.

Her mother was eating at a restaurant in a hotel with her niece and told Backstrom that a bomb might have gone off nearby and there was smoke everywhere. At that point, Backstrom said the call got disconnected, so she tried to walk to where her mother was staying. When they approached the area, they found it was closed off to people entering and exiting.

“They were stuck,” said Backstrom, who was racing in her ninth Boston race.

Backstrom said she made her way south, away from the explosion site and all around her she saw police and ambulances and much of what she heard was just sirens. She ended up in a restaurant, coming across many displaced runners — some had finished the race, some hadn’t.

“It was awful,” she said, as people were trying to get a hold of loved ones. “It was just mayhem.”

Backstrom was eventually able to connect with her mother and they headed back to Backstrom’s hotel.

On Tuesday, Backstrom said everything was closed. She had planned to go sightseeing for part of the day before flying home. Instead, she was able to get an earlier flight.

“I just wanted out,” Backstrom said.

She said the police and National Guard were checking bags before allowing people to board the subway and there was heightened security at the airport.

Backstrom said Boston is still her favorite marathon and she won’t let whoever is responsible for the bombs take that away from her.

“I’m not going back next year, but I’m going back,” she said.

According to the Boston Athletic Association, there also were nine Issaquah residents registered for the event.

In addition to Bartholomae and Backstrom, the list of runners from Sammamish included: Matt Adamson, 41; Rebecca Adamson, 38; Michael Brisbois, 49; Janet Howe, 53; Salvador Moreno, 39; Terry Ostendorf, 51; Audrey Quinto, 38 and Ann Marie Skalecki, 51.

The list of runners from Issaquah included: Mike Bates, 51; Sumanth Donthi 33; Shannon Harrison, 23; Brian Maher, 33; Sue Maybee, 51; Ashley Mehrens, 30; Rebecca Tollefson, 23; Shelby Tueffers, 23 and Leslie Vona, 35.

More than 500 Washington residents were registered for the race, which had more than 23,000 competitors.

Redmond Reporter writer Samantha Pak contributed to this report.