Lake Stevens’ marathon runner: ‘Glad to be alive’

LAKE STEVENS — Over the ensuing days, there were to be many moments of surprise and astonishment for Bill Iffrig.

Like the scores of e-mail and phone messages from family and friends, all wishing him the best. Like the interview requests from international media, including all the major U.S. television networks. Like his picture on the cover of this week’s Sports Illustrated magazine. Like the mention from President Barack Obama during a Thursday speech.

But before all that — and, in fact, the reason for all that — there were those terrifying moments on the pavement of a bomb-stricken Boston street.

“When I was (falling), the thought rushed through my head that, ‘Hey, maybe this is it. Maybe I’m done,’” Iffrig said Saturday, one day after returning with his wife Donna to their Lake Stevens home.

Even now, he added, “I’m just so glad to be alive. I was so lucky and I realized that right away. I can’t get over how lucky I was.”

The 78-year-old Iffrig was in Boston for Monday’s 117th Boston Marathon, the most prestigious road race in this country and perhaps anywhere in the world. Having completed 26 miles, he had just turned onto Boylston Street for the final few blocks to the finish line when two bombs went off in succession.

Iffrig, who was running his 45th marathon, was the runner closest to the first blast, maybe 30 or 40 feet to his left. The explosion caused his knees to buckle, and his collapse was captured by video and still photographers at the scene. Those images were among the first to be transmitted around the world.

The explosion “was a blast I couldn’t believe,” Iffrig said. “It was so loud. It was deafening. And it seemed like it was right next to me.”

Though it took him a while “to get my wits about me again,” he never considered quitting the race. “I was pretty sure I wasn’t hurt … and I wanted to get to the finish line,” he explained. “The thought didn’t even enter my head to just lay there and forget about it.”

Eventually he rose and continued the few remaining strides to the line, completing his race in 4:09. “It was a good time,” he said. “I felt very happy with my time.”

There was, by then, chaos around him. Wheelchairs intended for injured runners were now being used to transport the wounded. Many of them “were bleeding badly,” Iffrig said. “It was a real battle scene.”

After convincing race officials and medical personnel that he was unhurt, he walked six blocks to the Park Plaza Hotel where Donna Iffrig — she had heard the explosions and the emergency sirens — was waiting in their hotel room.

“She was in tears because she was expecting the worst,” he said.

The incident, Donna Iffrig said, has been “hard to get through. I thought maybe he wasn’t going to return.”

Remarkably, Bill Iffrig suffered no injury worse than a slight scrape on his knee from the fall. “But the rest of the day things were pretty weird in my ears, this (left) one in particular,” he said.

The Iffrigs had planned to spend a few days sightseeing in Boston following the race, “but after this happened we just lost interest in doing anything like that,” he said. They stayed mostly in their hotel room, “glued to the TV and glued to the telephone.”

Once Iffrig’s identity became known, the interview requests began pouring in. He figures he did 15 interviews while in Boston, and he is still getting more calls. On Saturday, just before meeting a reporter and photographer from The Herald, Iffrig was on the phone with a reporter from Runners World magazine, setting up another interview for Tuesday.

Obama traveled to Boston on Thursday, and in his remarks at an interfaith memorial service for the victims — three killed, at least 180 wounded — he cited Iffrig as an example of courage and determination.

“Like Bill Iffrig, 78 years old, the runner in the orange tank top that we all saw get knocked down by the blast, we may be momentarily knocked off our feet,” Obama told the crowd. “But we’ll pick ourselves up. We’ll keep going. We will finish the race.”

Asked about the president’s praise, Iffrig smiled. “What I thought was, ‘Are you kidding me?’ It’s not that big a deal,” he said.

It was at the Boston airport on Friday that Iffrig got his first glimpse of this week’s Sports Illustrated. A flight attendant handed him a copy with the cover photo of Iffrig sprawled in the street and four police officers — one with pistol drawn — reacting to the bomb blasts.

Donna Iffrig finds the picture disturbing, but her husband figures he will get it framed and put it on the wall. Likewise, he will save other mementos from the race, including a souvenir program, his finisher’s medal, his bib number (No. 19200), and the distinctive orange singlet he wore on that fateful day.

They will evidently be his final Boston keepsakes because on Saturday he vowed that he would not enter the Boston Marathon again.

A year ago Iffrig ran on a hot, humid Boston day and it took him 7 1/2 hours to finish, leaving his wife to fret anxiously back in their hotel room as she waited to hear that he was OK. This year she was fretting again, albeit from different circumstances.

“It was pretty hard on my family (the last two years),” he said. “And they just don’t want me to put everybody through that again.” Although he expects to continue running, including more marathons, “I’m not going to Boston again,” he said.

“And I’m divorcing him if he does,” Donna Iffrig said, at last managing a smile.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Trader Joe’s customers walk in and out of the store on Monday, Nov. 20, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Trader Joe’s opens this week at Everett Mall

It’s a short move from a longtime location, essentially across the street, where parking was often an adventure.

Ian Bramel-Allen enters a guilty plea to second-degree murder during a plea and sentencing hearing on Wednesday, March 6, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Deep remorse’: Man gets 17 years for friend’s fatal stabbing in Edmonds

Ian Bramel-Allen, 44, pleaded guilty Wednesday to second-degree murder for killing Bret Northcutt last year at a WinCo.

Firefighters respond to a small RV and a motorhome fire on Tuesday afternoon in Marysville. (Provided by Snohomish County Fire Distrct 22)
1 injured after RV fire, explosion near Marysville

The cause of the fire in the 11600 block of 81st Avenue NE had not been determined, fire officials said.

Ashton Dedmon appears in court during his sentencing hearing on Tuesday, March 5, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Everett Navy sailor sentenced to 90 days for fatal hit and run

Ashton Dedmon crashed into Joshua Kollman and drove away. Dedmon, a petty officer on the USS Kidd, reported he had a panic attack.

A kindergarten student works on a computer at Emerson Elementary School on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘¡Una erupción!’: Dual language programs expanding to 10 local schools

A new bill aims to support 10 new programs each year statewide. In Snohomish County, most follow a 90-10 model of Spanish and English.

Logo for news use featuring the Tulalip Indian Reservation in Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
Woman drives off cliff, dies on Tulalip Reservation

The woman fell 70 to 80 feet after driving off Priest Point Drive NW on Sunday afternoon.

Everett
Boy, 4, survives fall from Everett fourth-story apartment window

The child was being treated at Seattle Children’s. The city has a limited supply of window stops for low-income residents.

People head out to the water at low tide during an unseasonably warm day on Saturday, March 16, 2024, at Lighthouse Park in Mukilteo, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Everett shatters record high temperature by 11 degrees

On Saturday, it hit 73 degrees, breaking the previous record of 62 set in 2007.

Snohomish County Fire District #4 and Snohomish Regional Fire & Rescue respond to a motor vehicle collision for a car and pole. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene, near Triangle Bait & Tackle in Snohomish. (Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office)
Police: Troopers tried to stop driver before deadly crash in Snohomish

The man, 31, was driving at “a high rate of speed” when he crashed into a traffic light pole and died, investigators said.

Alan Dean, who is accused of the 1993 strangulation murder of 15-year-old Bothell girl Melissa Lee, appears in court during opening statements of his trial on Monday, March 18, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
31 years later, trial opens in Bothell teen’s brutal killing

In April 1993, Melissa Lee’s body was found below Edgewater Creek Bridge. It would take 27 years to arrest Alan Dean in her death.

Logo for news use featuring the municipality of Snohomish in Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
Man dies after crashing into pole in Snohomish

Just before 1 a.m., the driver crashed into a traffic light pole at the intersection of 2nd Street and Maple Avenue.

Bodies of two men recovered after falling into Eagle Falls near Index

Two men fell into the falls and did not resurface Saturday, authorities said. After a recovery effort, two bodies were found.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.