Los Gatos Runner Christine Kennedy OK After Boston Marathon Explosion

Los Gatos celebrity marathoner Christine Kennedy, 58, texted good friend Willie Harmatz at the Athletic Performance store that she's OK following this afternoon's bomb blasts near the finish line of the Boston Marathon.

This was Kennedy's fifth Boston Marathon, an event she trains for yearly and has has won in the women's masters' age group divisions accomplishing the 26.2 miles in under three hours.

"She's OK, she's OK," Harmatz said when asked how Kennedy was doing after the tragedy that left two dead and more than 50 injured.

"She texted me and said she's fine ... two bombs went off by the finish line of the race, and she was in that area," Harmatz said, adding that the event was not canceled as the most runners had finished by the time the blasts went off.

Kennedy and Harmatz are co-owner of Athletic Performance in Los Gatos and is a mentor to many women runners in the South Bay. 

In December 2010, she started a free beginners running group that meets at 7 a.m. every Wednesday. The group trains on the Los Gatos Creek Trail.

The world's oldest marathon, the Boston Marathon is a prestigious event that runners spend months or even years training for, just to meet the qualifying standards for the grueling 26.2-mile journey.

Monday was the 117th running of the race. Eight other Los Gatos residents also ran.

Kennedy finished the race in 2:55:01placing second in her age division.

To see the official list from our town and how well they did in their divisions click here.

Other Los Gatos runners participating in the race were:

• Beveridge, Lori, 3:58:15
• Diana J. Vanry, 3:50:59
• Andrew D. Ferguson, 3:35:00
• Natalie Schmidt, 3:30:14
• Kazuyuki Matsuoka, 3:29:27
• Yujun Wang, 3:08:09
• Christopher Wilber, 3:02:38
• Philip Hathaway, 3:00:49

For comprehensive coverage of the Boston Marathon explosions please click here.