BOSTON -- Jeff Haynes caught a second wind late while running the Boston Marathon in 2013. It might've just saved his life.
Currently a science teacher and coach at Lakeside High School in Hot Springs, Haynes had walked the previous five miles of the 26-mile race. He regained his strength and ran the final mile, finishing the historic race just after 2:30 p.m. on April 15, 2013.
At 2:49 p.m. the first of two bombs exploded near the finish line. Just 14 seconds later the second bomb exploded. Three people died and hundreds more were injured, including 16 who lost limbs from injuries suffered because of the terrorist bombing.
Haynes, who was head cross country/track and field coach and athletic director at Trinity Christian the one and only time he participated in the Boston Marathon, said if had walked the final mile, he would've likely been finishing just as the bombs exploded.
The Boston Marathon -- the oldest annual marathon in the United States -- is one of the toughest running events to get into. Even with a runner meeting the qualifying standards on a certified course, a spot in the field is not always guaranteed.
Haynes, a native of Prescott, Ark., had qualified in Houston the previous year, but broke his foot while running a half marathon in December, a little over four months before the race. He had all but made up his mind to not run in Boston.
"I decided I wasn't going to do the (Boston) marathon," Haynes said. "I was in the gym one day, and a friend of mine's dad, who is a runner also, came up to me and asked when I was going to Boston."
Haynes explained that he wasn't going to go because of his foot injury.
The man told Haynes, "I qualified 25 years ago, and I didn't go. I regret it every day. Even if you have to walk the Boston Marathon, go do it."
With the injury and since he had decided, initially, to not run in the marathon, Haynes was not in the same shape he had qualified, running the qualifying marathon in 3:09.
"I was good through the first 18-19 miles," he recalled. "I struggled from 20-25, did a lot of walking. You can walk about a 15-18 minute mile, and when I hit the 25-mile mark I just got re-energized. I ran the whole last mile.
"I crossed the finish line, and 18 minutes later the bomb went off. If I had walked that last mile, I could've been right there by the explosion. It's still kind of surreal when I think about how close everything was."
Haynes completed the marathon in 3:52:52. When the first explosion occurred, the race clock showed 4:09:44.
Haynes had made the trip to Boston with his wife, Denise, and their daughter, Kalyn, who was 12 at the time. They were waiting for him at the finish line.
"After the explosion, we knew we had to get Kalyn out of there," Haynes said. "I had been an EMT and volunteer fireman for years, and my wife also worked in the medical field. But we knew we had to get our daughter to safety.
"I believe that God energized me at that 25-mile mark. He was the one that gave the energy and the second wind -- you don't get that strength back after being out there that long -- that was a higher power. That was God trying to get me back to my family and keep us safe."
Haynes has also served as cross country and track coach at Pleasant Grove, and cross country head coach for Texas A&M University-Texarkana. He has been at Lakeside since 2017, teaching science and coaching swim, cross country and track.
"When I first got to Lakeside, I was the fastest ones on our team," Haynes smiled. "That was very bad for our program that a 50-year-old man was the fastest one on the team, but now I've got some hosses running. We've got great numbers, and they work hard."
About a year and a half ago, Haynes underwent a heart procedure that has limited his running.
"I would love to go back and run the marathon again, one day," Haynes said. "I just now started back running; I struggle to run four miles right now, but I've just got back to training."
Sports on 04/15/2020