Twenty-two Chapel Hillians and dozens of other Triangle residents were among the competitors in the 2013 Boston Marathon, where a pair of explosions caused multiple fatalities and more than a hundred injuries Monday afternoon.

Orange and Chatham County Superior Court Judge Allen Baddour was one of thousands who competed in the Boston Marathon—and fortunately, he says he completed the race and left the area well before the explosions occurred.

“We actually learned more about it through the texts and phone calls we got than anything,” he told WCHL on Monday afternoon. “I guess fortunately for us, we were long gone and out of the area…of course we’re very concerned about the others who weren’t so fortunate.”

Baddour and his wife Holly were in Boston for the Marathon, along with dozens of other local residents. Among those was Chapelboro.com’s Art Chansky, who was on hand to support his wife Jan Bolick as she competed in the race. With cell phones down across the city, nearly three hours passed after the incident before we received word—but at around 5:30, Art sent an email confirming that he and Jan were both safe as well.

Also on hand from the area were UNC alum Shalane Flanagan and retired UNC professor David Leith of the School of Public Health. WCHL received word via Twitter that both of them were safe as well; Flanagan, in fact, finished fourth in the women’s race.

For anyone seeking information about a competitor or spectator in the race, Google launched a person finder on Monday specific to the Boston Marathon.

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