As a high school senior Karen Plucinski would watch the finish line of the infamous Boston Marathon.

“I was caught up with the drama and excitement of the race and at the moment, I knew I would some day run the Boston Marathon,” Plucinski said.

Plucinski is a professor of biology at Missouri Southern She competed in the Boston Marathon this year

Growing up in Durham, New Hampshire, Plucinski was only an hour north of Boston. She attended the University of New Hampshire where she competed in cross-country during the winter and track during the spring.

 “I won the 10,000 meters in the New England Championships my freshman and sophomore years. In summers I competed heavily in road races,” she said.

The Boston Marathon began in 1897 and since its first running has been held on Patriot’s Day. Plucinski finished the race this year with a time of 3:24.

“Boston has so much history and prestige, it was very emotional running the race. I saw my family at the top of Heartbreak Hill,” she said.

“It is a very interesting event, both physiologically and psychologically.”

This year’s race came with more emotion than most anticipated. Two home made bombs exploded near the finish line, causing havoc in the city of Boston.

According to police, the bombs were slated to go off at a common finish time for the runners.

“My sister and her family were one block away and got safely across the river away from the finish line. We were on a subway when the bombs went off and were evacuated,” Plucinski said.

Plucinski has competed in four Boston Marathons since her first race in 1983. The “lure of the roads was too great” for her to pass up.

“After my sophomore year I elected to leave collegiate track and cross country to pursue the road,” she said. “They were all memorable in their own way, but 1983 stands out as it my PR [personal record] year.”

In that particular race, Plucinski finished with a 2:33:36, fourth behind Joan Benoit Samuelson’s world record of 2:22.

“People are still talking about that race! Looking back, to finish fourth in a world record race will go down as one of the highlights of my life,” she says.

 “I was in third place in 1985 but in a slower time because it was hot, easily 75 degrees at the finish,” she continued.

Plucinski ran in the Boston Marathon for the third time in 2000.

Running in over 75 marathons, Plucinski has also ran in ultra-marathons and holds the women’s record in Missouri, which is over 50 miles (7:00 hours). An ultra-marathon is any race that is longer than 26.2 miles.

Despite the tragedy that occurred this year, Plucinski says the events this year make her more resolved to go back.  

 “It is heartbreaking for those families who lost loved ones and the injured, but I think runners inherently have a strong spirit and the event will become even more popular in the future as a way of honoring and remembering those lost,” she said.