Coach Kyle Horne with former students Peyton Slater and Brice Paterik

Coach Kyle Horne with former students Peyton Slater and Brice Paterik

Kyle Horne is okay, but he and his wife were shaken after running in the Boston Marathon yesterday. The Lake Highlands High School swim and water polo coach and his bride of six years had already crossed the finish line and exited that area before two bombs exploded, killing at least three and injuring more than 100.

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(More about neighbors who witnessed the tragedy here.)

Kyle had the foresight, even in the chaos of the moment, to immediately message his parents to let the kids know he was safe.

“Parents..I had a great time at the marathon. I am saddened by the events that have taken place. My wife and I are ok and we were not close to the explosion. Please let the kids know I’m ok. Thanks.”

Kyle had encouraged his kids to follow him in the race, and he gave them details on how to track his progress:

“On Monday I will be running in the Boston Marathon. In December 2011, I ran a 3:04.55 at the White Rock marathon and qualified by 5 seconds. This time I will be going for a sub 3. There is a good chance it will not happen, but I’m going to give it a shot. I appreciate all your support and am very proud to represent LH. I borrowed an LHHS track jersey to wear for the race.

You can follow my race on Monday, my bib # is 4943.  I am in the first wave (red bibs) starting at 10:00 EST on Monday (9:00 CST).  You can text “RUNNER” to 345678 to receive text message updates during the race.  You will receive an automatic response and will then have to reply with my bib # 4943.”

Kyle finished the race at 3:23:22. His students are glad he’s one fast guy.