More than 900 Texans were listed to take part in the 2013 Boston Marathon and more than 300 North Texans from 47 different cities were in the marathon when two bombs exploded near the crowded finish line on Monday.
Three people died and more than 140 others were injured in a terrifying scene of broken glass, smoke and severed limbs, authorities said.
Many of the local runners are still shaken by the explosions. Some had already crossed the finish line and left the area before they heard the news. Runners said they were contacted by family and friends reaching out to make sure their loved ones were all right.
North Texas Runners React to Boston Blasts
North Texans arriving at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport on Monday night react to the Boston Marathon blasts.
North Texan in Boston: "I Heard a Loud Explosion"
Kim Gray had finished the Boston Marathon and talks about the frightening scene as people realized explosions had rocked the finish line, meanwhile Luke's Locker is trying to reach out to North Texans who participated in the Boston Marathon.
"It's almost like somebody coming into your home and tearing it up, blowing it up. You know, it's real personal, so whenever you see something where in a marathon that it become dangerous. It's scary. It's sad," says runner Kelly Green from Irving.
"I was in disbelief. I couldn't believe someone would come to such an amazing, wonderful, inspiring event and wreak havoc and terrorize people who are innocent, especially from what I've heard – children," says Plano runner, Jan Vicary.
"I don't like running marathons but it's such a fun race. there must have been about a million spectators out there cheering me on so I'll come back every year, hope to qualify and come back," says John Morgan from Grand Prairie.
Kim Gray of Arlington had finished the marathon about 30 minutes before the explosions and was three blocks away when it happened.
"I heard a loud explosion it was really loud almost like a building was coming down. Like in the movies when they blow up a building," said Gray. "I didn't know until people started running toward me and they were telling me what happened and they were all crying, so I finally figured it all out."
Gray said the area was chaotic.
"It was pretty scary, they were crying and running toward me and telling me to turn around. I just got really scared and started crying, I didn't know what to do because they're telling me to leave, telling me to leave Boston and I was trying to get to my hotel," said Gray.
NBC 5 profiled a Parker County woman who was running in her first marathon in her mother's memory. Felicia Scott, who was among the 20,000 people who planned to participate in the marathon this year, was not injured in the blasts that rocked the finish line.
"Yes I'm OK," she told NBC 5. "I wasn't near the finish line yet, so they stopped us. I'm sitting in a Holiday Inn right now just waiting until I can get back to my hotel."
Scott was stopped at mile 24 and told to go to a nearby church. She moved to a Holiday Inn across the street that was warmer and has been there ever since.
Keller senior Megan Forrest was still running when she heard the blasts. She took to Twitter to tell her loved ones in North Texas she was OK.
Popular North Texas running store Luke's Locker has 18 runners representing the store in Boston and getting through to them has been difficult.
"Our primary focus now is just really trying to make sure everybody we know is safe and OK," said Luke's Locker CEO Matt Lucas. "It's very disappointing, in terms of the running community, that this would happen. Running is such a peaceful event."
Early Tuesday morning, dozens of runners gathered at the store for a morning "social run." The mood during the 6 a.m. run was somber and serious as about 30 joined in with heavy hearts.
For the runners in Dallas, it was a restless night of trying to get updates from the their friends in Boston. Many said they only got updates because strangers were letting people use their cell phones or power outlets.
"I had people checking in on Facebook. Texting was very difficult. I finally got a text from my friend, who ended up sitting in a stranger's car, borrowing his phone," local runner Colm Bergin said. "I wouldn't say it was panic, but definitely chaos until we were able to hear from everyone and confirm they were alright."
The team from Luke's Locker has confirmed that all 18 runners were safe after the blasts.
More runners are expected home Tuesday morning. The first flight from Boston back to DFW Airport took off just before 6 a.m. Tuesday. Three flights land from Boston on Monday night.
NBC 5's Elvira Sakmari, Kendra Lyn, Jeff Smith, Andres Gutierrez, and Ben Russell contributed to this report.
