Wake Forest Athletics
Former Deac Estwanik Recalls Boston Marathon
4/19/2013 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track and Field
April 19, 2013
By Nick Sebesta, Wake Forest Athletic Communications (@WFUSports)
When Chris Estwanik moved to California in 2002 to run professionally for Nike, he left his alma mater with an impressive resume. He was an ACC champion in the distance medley relay in both 2001 and 2002 while winning the 3000m in his final year. He earned All-ACC honors seven different times through his career in both track and field along with cross country.
And as he crossed the finish line of the Boston Marathon on Monday in 21st place overall in 2:19.55, it seemed like another great day in his running career. Little did he know that a mere 90 minutes later, the finish line would be the epicenter of grief and chaos. Two bombs which exploded seconds apart at the finish line of the Boston Marathon turned what should have been a scene of joy and happiness into a crime scene, leaving three dead and hundreds injured.
Estwanik, now living in Bermuda with his wife Ashley with their two kids, graduated from Wake Forest in 2002. The Dublin, Ohio native embarked on a new career in running professionally for Nike in California following college.
"I did well (at Wake Forest), but I felt like I had some untapped potential after graduation," said Estwanik. "The job market was pretty robust in 2002 and I had enough confidence to turn down some offers to pursue my dream of competing in the Olympics."
Although he didn't make it to the Olympics, he ran on some World Championship teams for the United States and accomplished one of his goals of running a sub-four minute mile, which is a high accomplishment for an American runner.
Along with working for Google from 2004-2007, he and Ashley moved to Bermuda where she is from and where a lot of her family lives.
"They're passionate about track and field in Bermuda and throughout the Caribbean, so we got running again," remarked Estwanik.
Although he was a mid-distance runner at Wake Forest, Estwanik always wanted to do a marathon. He and Ashley planned on running in the New York City Marathon, but that changed after Hurricane Sandy forced the cancellation of the race. With the marathon being cancelled, it turned their sights to running in the Boston Marathon on April 15.
"My goal for Monday was to be the fastest desk jockey in Boston," said Estwanik. "I'm still insanely competitive and running has been a huge outlet. I wanted to go mix it up with professionals one last time. I did far exceed my expectations especially for a guy who sits at a desk all day. It was a massive surprise. "
Still displaying the drive that carried him to three ACC championships just 11 years prior, Estwanik finished in the top-10 for Americans and just nine minutes off the top finisher. His wife Ashley finished a few minutes behind him at 2:55.56.
After finishing, Estwanik went and grabbed his sweats while waiting for Ashley to finish in the family waiting area. Then when she finished the race, they headed back towards their hotel.
"We stayed at the Westin which later turned into the police headquarters," said Estwanik. "We got into our room and showered then walked back out to get something to eat."
That is when both noticed that something was different outside.
"On one of the overpasses as we were walking over, we noted a few people crying," recalled Estwanik. "We didn't think much of it at the time because we didn't know if there was an accident, or something happened to them in the marathon. We hoped they were okay as we passed by. Then we realized everyone was on their cellphone. We had no idea at the time what was going on. We walked into a fitness place nearby with a TV and people crowded around it. A few minutes later, we were ushered into a restaurant as they got everybody off the street."
Just hours after completing the marathon and finishing 21st, two bombs tore through the crowd of spectators at the finish line. The same finish line Estwanik and his wife had passed through. Now, they were sequestered in a restaurant for six hours, getting updates every half hour on what was going on.
"My phone was ringing non-stop with calls and texts from Bermuda and other runners. I couldn't put my phone down for three hours. We have taken precautions for if anything should happen and we have a will. Not going to lie, I called my parents and said, `I love you guys'. Not to overdramatize it, but I would never forgive myself if I didn't say something. We didn't know what was going on."
While confusion and panic reigned through the streets of Boston, Estwanik was reminded of the true spirit of the marathon.
"One of the initial thoughts, was that a marathon is a powerful thing because whoever it is from top to bottom, everyone has an epic journey and are doing it for different reasons, that's what's it about. It's not an elitist sport. My initial reaction was that it made me so sad for human society but no sooner had I said that but there were glimmers of hope."
People who were still running in the race were stopped and had no access to their bags, wallets or hotel keys. Without hesitation, the restaurant where Estwanik was in began cooking meals non-stop for runners, police, national guardsmen and anyone else who needed something to eat. Locals were offering rooms to stay in and while many were helping in any way they could.
But as Chris and Ashley returned home to Bermuda and he went back to work as a reinsurance underwriter, the events in Boston continued to resonate.
"It does seem surreal and I couldn't wait to get home and see my two wonderful children. Someday we'll have to explain it to them but for now we stay positive and keep on going," remarked Estwanik.
