Several Runners from Cumming in Boston Marathon are OK

UPDATE: 3-16-13, 9:47 a.m.

Two more runners from Cumming are apparently okay and finished the 26.2-mile run before the tragedy struck. (The blasts happened shortly after the 4:00 mark on the race clock.) According to ESPN, Jonathan Gillette finished the race at 3:22:18 and Amy Griffith finished at 3:59:00.

Out of the nine runners from Cumming listed as an entrant in the Boston Marathon, there are two runners who are unaccounted for and they include, Rhonda Blackford-Noonan and Tod Taylor. If you have information about them, tell us in the comment box below.

UPDATE: 3-15-13, 9:51 p.m.

The Boston Globe reports the death toll rises to three and more than 100 people injured.

UPDATE: 3-15-13, 9:20 p.m.

Amy Bartholomew, one of the nine runners from Cumming who registered as an entrant for Monday's Boston Marathon (see below), is safe.

11Alive.com reports that she had finished the race and was getting a massage when the tragic event happened.

If you know the whereabouts of the other four runners, Rhonda Blackford-Noonan, Jonathan Gillette, Amy Griffith and Tod Taylor, tell us in the comment box below.

UPDATE: 3-15-13, 7:26 p.m.

Cumming Patch has learned that runners Laura Semanson, Shane Sweet and Virginia Westerby are okay, according to Alex Rodriguez, co-owner of Totally Running located in south Forsyth. Natalie Salvador, whose name appears in the list below, was unable to travel to Boston for Monday's race.

Rodriguez said that Semanson and Salvador are employees of Totally Running.

An avid runner himself, Rodriguez said the tragic event in Boston is a terrible situation.

"It's a shame so many people are out there hoping to have a joyful time with their families and the runners themselves that work so hard to be there and now this happened it is a shame," he said.

Rodriguez said that he and Semanson communicated today via text. He said that Semanson said she was unable to finish the race because of what happened and that the situation in Boston was "chaotic." He did not know if Sweet or Westerby finished the race.

The whereabouts of the other five runners is unknown at the time of this writing.

Visit this website to check up on loved ones who ran the Boston Marathon, or call 617-635-4500.

Original Article:

Boston Police are reporting at least two people died and many were injured after two explosions occurred around 2:50 p.m. Monday near the finish line of the Boston Marathon. 

Video of the incident shows the explosion knocking runners and bystanders to the ground following the blast. 

The Boston Marathon released a statement around 4 p.m. that said, "There were two bombs that exploded near the finish line in today's Boston Marathon. We are working with law enforcement to understand what exactly has happened."

According to the Boston Marathon's website, nine runners in this year's race listed Cumming as their hometown.

If you have been in contact with any of them, please share with your neighbors by commenting below. Also, you can search for 2013 Boston Marathon runners, click here. 

Follow breaking coverage on the incident from our Patch sites throughout the Boston area.

The American Red Cross Safe and Well site has been activated. 

Stay with Cumming Patch for updates.