Flights from Boston land in Milwaukee Monday night

MILWAUKEE (WITI) — Some flights from Boston landed in Milwaukee Monday night, April 15th — following the devastating bombings during the Boston Marathon on Monday afternoon.

FOX6 News caught up with a few of the runners Monday night after three direct flights from Boston to Milwaukee landed.

Wisconsin runners were easy to spot with their gold and blue jackets, medals, and of course, relief on their faces as they ran and hugged their loved ones.

Many of the Wisconsin runners FOX6 News spoke with had finished the race prior to the bombings and were not on site when they occurred. Others had actually returned to their hotels.

Among the passengers was former state Assembly Speaker John Gard — who ran the marathon Monday.

" We had a group of Green Bay guys waiting for each other to come in and we were waiting by a little tent right by the medical tent. We were there for quite a while waiting for one of our guys and we didn't hear from him, didn't hear from him, so we were gonna go back and then it (bombings) happened," John Gard said.

Marathon runner Brian Presiler recounts his experience and relief to get on a plane back to Milwaukee.

"They were telling people to evacuate to that part of the city because they were still finding different things. It was good for me to get on a plan and get as far away as possible," Preisler said.