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Runners From Colorado Return Home After Boston Bombings

BOULDER, Colo. (CBS4/AP) - Colorado runners were among those who witnessed the exploding bombs at the Boston Marathon on Monday, and many are now returning home with stories of how terrifying the event was.

Hundreds of people from the state registered for the race.

Kristi Medley, of Golden, flew back from Boston on Monday night and told CBS4 at Denver International Airport that she wasn't sure what happened at first.

"I heard the first blast go off. I actually saw it," said Medley. "It kind of threw me backwards. Nobody really did anything. I think everybody was just in shock. And then the second blast hit and it was right across the street and it knocked everybody in front of me backwards."

"There were a lot of people down on the street. I saw a lot of blood. At that point I just turned and started running. I was so afraid there was going to be another blast."

Breckenridge resident David Axelrod also told CBS4 at the airport that he was in the vicinity of where the bombs went off.

"It was interesting. There were a lot of people who were scattered and running away and then there were people just going about their normal business and having beers and going to coffee shops," Axelrod said.

Geralyn Eastman of Superior finished 12 seconds before the first explosion. She said her husband Grady suffered an abrasion on his leg from one of the bombs.

Boulder nurse Jessica Bianco said she didn't hear the explosions because she was still running and in an underpass with a friend and her fiance. As they emerged, she said a police officer stopped the race.

Henry Guzman from Boulder was in Boston for his tenth Boston Marathon. He finished the race 30 minutes before the explosions and walked over to his hotel -- The Lennox -- which overlooks the finish line.

Guzman said he looked out his 10th floor window just as the first bomb exploded, rattling his windows.

As the smoke cleared Guzman heard people screaming and got a first-hand look at the carnage. He described what he saw with CBS4's Tom Mustin by phone.

"All of a sudden there's a lady like over a rail and you could tell that either she's dead or she's incapacitated. One guy lost a limb," Guzman said. "There was just blood everywhere. It was like a war zone."

Guzman says he plans to run in the Boston Marathon again next year. He said believes it's important to show "the forces of evil that we won't let them win."

"When you look at the world that we live in, it's sad what hate does."

MORE FROM CBSBOSTON.COM: Complete Boston Marathon Bombings Coverage

(TM and © Copyright 2013 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2013 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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