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Mother of runner injured in Boston
Near finish line when bombs went off
Run WEB
Juli Windsor, whose mother Anita Erickson was injured in the Boston Marathon bombings, completes a qualifier race last year. - photo by For the Forsyth County News

The mother of a Forsyth Central High School graduate who was running in the Boston Marathon on Monday is recovering from injuries suffered when two bombs were detonated near the finish line, family members say.

Juli Windsor, a former Cumming resident who now lives in Boston with her husband, was competing in the race. Her mother, Anita Erickson, was awaiting her finish when the bombs went off.

According to Sue Windsor, Juli’s mother-in-law, Erickson has a rotator cuff injury and bruising to her face.

“It was crazy,” said Sue Windsor, who was also there but not injured. “It was pretty crazy, very, very surreal.”

Sue Windsor said she and Erickson, a nurse at Otwell Middle School in Cumming, are scheduled to return home Wednesday.

Erickson could not be reached for comment Tuesday. Juli Windsor, who recently completed her education as a physician’s assistant, was on a job interview in the Boston area and unavailable Tuesday.

Her mother-in-law said running in the marathon had been a dream of many years for Juli, who has a form of dwarfism. Windsor said Juli was about a half a mile from the finish line when the bombs went off.

“They just stopped her and directed [all the runners] off the course,” Windsor said. “She turned around and ran back to the other little person who was running. She passed him and ran back to him and told him what was going on.”

Windsor said Juli, like many of the runners, won’t let the events of the day destroy her dream of completing the marathon.

“Juli is fine,” she said. “She’s obviously crushed that her dreams were interrupted, but she’s more determined than ever.”