L.B. resident was 'a block away' from Boston Marathon blast

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“We are closely monitoring today’s tragic events that took place at the Boston Marathon,” County Executive Ed Mangano said in a statement. “Our Nassau County Police Department is in constant contact with the FBI and the New York City Police Department. Our patrol officers have been put on high alert. In addition, we will be holding a security meeting this Wednesday with subsequent security briefings in the weeks leading up to our Long Island Marathon which is scheduled for May 3 through May 5. We ask our residents to remember our See Something Say Something Campaign — if something or someone seems out of place, please call 911. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims of those affected by today’s horrific tragedy.”

Lynch, who was still too shaken up to speak to a reporter on Tuesday, is the city Civil Service Commission secretary and a board member of the Long Beach Waterfront Warriors, an organization that assists wounded, ill and injured soldiers and which her husband co-chairs. She is also an avid runner who competes in a number of races in Long Beach and elsewhere.

She was officially running the Boston Marathon for Dream Big!, a Boston-based charity whose mission is helping low-income and homeless girls participate in sports and other physical activities. She had planned to run the New York City Marathon in November, but before it was canceled she made the decision not to run so that she could focus on helping her fellow Long Beach residents recover after the storm.

“The only way to do the Boston Marathon was to do a charity event,” Jamie said. “Robin said, ‘I’d like to run, but being that we were devastated down here and lost our sports equipment, would you [Dream Big!] be willing to help?’”

She eventually received an email saying that Dream Big! wanted to talk with her about her Boston Marathon charity application. “I immediately thought, How could I do this — how could I run for an organization in Boston when there is so much needed right here in Long Beach?” she wrote on her fund-raising website. “It didn’t seem right.”

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