Marsha Kouba is running to finish a race that no one really finished in 2013.
"We knew as soon as the events happened last year at the finish line that we were going back," said Kouba.
Friday night, Kouba was packing for her tenth Boston Marathon, which will be bittersweet.
"We could not let last year be our last year," said Kouba.
Kouba crossed the finished line in last year's race about a minute or so before two bombs exploded, and runners and spectators went from congratulating each other to running for their lives.
"I thought that we were going to die because once the second bomb goes off you don't know how many more are going to be there," she said.
Kouba was actually on the phone with her husband when the bombs exploded. She reconnected with her daughter and niece, who were in Boston with her. The three made it home safely.
While she got her Boston Marathon medallion before the bombs went off, Kouba wants to finish this year's marathon in triumph, not tragedy.
"There is no feeling like it," said Kouba. "When you make that last turn down Boylston Street, and you see the finish line, it's very emotional even without a bombing"
This year, Kouba's family, including her husband and dad, will be there to cheer her on.
