Personal best likely a blessing for Cape Central's Schaffner

Local runner Steve Schaffner's most recent marathon was his fastest. His speed may have saved his life.

Schaffner, orchestra director for Cape Girardeau Central junior and senior high schools, posted a personal record Monday in the Boston Marathon, finishing the 26.2-mile race in three hours, 27 minutes and 48 seconds.

He crossed the finish line a half-hour before a pair of bombs exploded in the area, killing three people and injuring at least 170 more.

"I didn't know anything until I got out to the airport," he said. "I was sitting there eating McDonald's."

Schaffner learned of the bombing when a friend sent him a text message to make sure he was OK.

"It's real unfortunate," he said. "I just hate [that] our whole society is so violent -- have to have all this horrible guns and killing and bombs all the time."

Schaffner said terrorists might have sought to take advantage of the heavy media presence at the finish line.

"If they were wanting to go for maximum coverage, where they knew it would happen and there'd be a lot of filming, they picked a perfect spot," he said.

Schaffner and Darin Hickey, public information officer for the Cape Girardeau Police Department, said it would have been easy for a terrorist to blend into the large, diverse crowd.

"You're going to have young. You're going to have old. You're going to have different ethnic origins. You're going to have different conglomerations of people, so it would be very easy," Hickey said.

Awareness is the best protection against any type of crime, from petty theft to terrorist attacks, Hickey said.

"Be aware of your surroundings. Be conscious of your situation that you're in. Know the location that you're at," he said. "Know the exits, but don't be so paranoid that you can't live."

The local running community is reaching out to help the victims of the Boston attack.

Kim Kelpe, co-owner of Missouri Running Co., 1720 Kingsway Drive in Cape Girardeau, said her store will donate 5 percent of its sales through April 24 to a victims' fund set up through the Boston Firefighters Credit Union.

The store is sponsoring a 2.62-mile run at 6:30 p.m. April 24 at Bel Air Bar and Grill, 24 S. Spanish St. in Cape Girardeau.

"It's not a race," Kelpe said. "If they choose, people may donate."

Principal Mike Cowan of Cape Girardeau Central High School said Schaffner's near miss had little impact on students, who were unaware of the bombing until after Schaffner's safety had been confirmed.

Cowan said the school librarian was tracking Schaffner's progress online and alerted colleagues when he crossed the finish line.

"We were all smiling and laughing and celebrating for him on campus," he said.

After learning of the bombing, school officials contacted Schaffner's wife, who assured them he was fine, Cowan said.

"The fragility of life always comes to mind in these moments," he said.

Schaffner, 54, said he ran his first marathon three years ago in Little Rock, Ark. He qualified for Boston with a time of 3:28:33 last year at Baton Rouge, La. He said the cutoff for his age group was three hours and 30 minutes.

"They call us squeakers -- you just barely squeaked in," he said.

Schaffner's quick finish qualifies him to run Boston again, but he hasn't yet decided whether he'll take advantage of the opportunity.

"You know, I'm going to have to give it a little time," he said. "There's lots of things in life you only need to do once."

epriddy@semissourian.com

388-3642

Pertinent address:

1720 Kingsway Drive, Cape Girardeau, MO

24 S. Spanish St., Cape Girardeau, MO