‘We can’t live in terror’: Adelaide’s Anna Liptak on the day that changed her life

Anna Liptak was lining up for the race of her dreams at the Boston Marathon in 2013 – but soon found herself caught up in the nightmare of terrorist bombings.

Anna Liptak at Bonython Park with her Boston Marathon jacket. Picture: Ben Clark

In 2013, a 38-year-old Anna Liptak raced in the world’s most prestigious marathon in Boston, Massachusetts. But after the Adelaide fitness coach crossed the finish line, that lifelong dream turned into a nightmare – and left an impact she still feels every time she lines up to run today. The tirelessly positive veteran of 40 marathons reflects on the moments leading up to the April 15 terrorist attack that saw two bombs explode, killing three people and leaving hundreds injured, and the impact it’s had on her and her family.

My friend, Chantel Peacock, and I qualified for the marathon and we were excited because this had been our lifelong dream. On the bus to the starting line, we made plans to meet some new friends for a drink after the race. During the race, we were fairly evenly paced but at the 32km mark, on Heartbreak Hill, she said to me “you’re feeling too strong for me today, I’ll see you at the end”.

I got to the finish line in a time of three hours and 30 minutes and asked an official if I could wait there for my friend – which you’re not usually allowed to do in Australia, they make you keep going. Chantel arrived just five minutes behind me.

Anna Liptak, sister of former Adelaide Crow and orthopaedic surgeon Matthew Liptak, reflects on the day that changed her life. Picture: Ben Clark

Fitness coach Anna Liptak in 2020 training with her sons, Lachy and Zach, just months after contracting Covid. Picture: Naomi Jellicoe

It was freezing cold and we didn’t have jumpers so we decided to head back to the hotel and have a quick shower before joining our new friends. That snap decision turned into a blessing. When we got back to the hotel, we heard yelling and people saying there’d been an explosion at the finish line, about 800m away. We could hear the sirens. We were in shock. If we’d taken a few minutes longer, we would have been caught up in the bomb because our meeting spot was right where it went off.

Police officers react to a second explosion at the finish line of the Boston Marathon on April 15, 2013 as a 78-year-old runner lies on the ground. Picture: AP Photo

It was probably worse for my husband, Nick Shinnick, back in Adelaide because he woke up to the horrific images, with hundreds of people ringing him. Our kids were very young and didn’t know what was happening so it was very difficult for them.

All of a sudden, I became a liaison for the media. I was on television and radio for the rest of the night. No one knew what was happening, there were police with huge guns everywhere, which kind of made me feel safe and eerie at the same time.

The next day, we headed to the airport. I still hadn’t had showered from the marathon – which is usually the first thing I do – but it was just all too much. I don’t think I had one until I was in Melbourne.

Investigators examine the scene of the second bombing in Boston on April 15, 2013. Picture: AP Photo

The airport was extremely eerie and a flight attendant said to us “if I was you, I wouldn’t be getting on this plane”. Basically she thought the plane was going to be blown up.

The bombing did change me emotionally. I get more upset thinking about the effect it had on my kids, who were eight and six. I felt like the world that I wanted to make for them – safe, beautiful and protected – was no longer.

I took a group to the New York marathon six months after the bombing with my business, Adventure Time Travel, and I wore my Boston Strong badge for the race. I worried New York could be targeted but I decided I had to show my kids that you can’t stop your life for something that may or may not happen. We can’t live in terror.

After returning from Boston in April, 2013, Anna Liptak is pictured happy at home with her children Lachy, then 7, and Zach, 9. Picture: Tricia Watkinson

I’m injured at the moment but I’m working towards the Chicago Marathon in October. The questions do get asked – is Chicago safe, mum? And they are in my mind. I know that when I am in these big crowds, I do get stressed and emotional, but it doesn’t stop me. Life is like a marathon, there’s always obstacles in your way and you either get stopped by them or you get over them.

Seven years after Boston, I was possibly the first person to get Covid in South Australia. Officially, I was the third but I was sick for a while before I could get tested. I was in Melbourne at a conference with people from America and China when I became very ill. I returned home on March 1 but I couldn’t get tested until five days later because I hadn’t been overseas.

After I tested positive, an ambulance turned up at my house – that was scary. I didn’t know if I was going to die but I was resigned to my fate – I’ve had a wonderful life and if it ended tomorrow, I’ve done everything I could ever want, I’ve had two beautiful children and a beautiful family.

Anna Liptak travels to Flinders Medical Centre in an ambulance in March, 2020. Picture: Supplied

Anna Liptak in the ambulance after testing positive to Covid. Picture: Supplied

I arrived at Flinders Medical Centre and they took me through the back entrance past the bins to avoid the media. All the floors were evacuated as I was transferred to the infectious diseases unit. The staff were in their suits, which was all a bit weird, and no one wanted to see me or talk to me. A CAT scan revealed I had double pneumonia – the worst type of Covid. I was worried I might have spread it people, including my Mum, a former cancer patient.

Then my son, Zach, was diagnosed, which was horrific because his school closed down and everyone knew. And some of the parents were awful – one woman said “why are you in the paper? I’ve got cancer and you’re getting all the attention”.

I refused to let my son go into a hospital room on his own like me, that would have psychologically scarred him for life. We had a house down at Middleton so it was agreed that my husband and my other son, Lachy, would go down there and allow me to recover at home with Zach.

I was very sick and it took me about four hours to change my bed. I was fastidious with cleaning because I wanted all the germs to disappear. It was hard but the gossiping made it worse – people were saying that they had seen us at the supermarket or out and about while we were isolating, which of course was wrong but made it very distressing.

Anna Liptak in her Boston Marathon jacket. Picture: Ben Clark

Unfortunately, I suffered from long Covid and that was horrific. I was so tired, I couldn’t get out of bed. I nearly shut my fitness training business, His and Her Time, I no longer felt like I could promote health and fitness. I thought “am I always going to be like this?”.

I had lots of tests and nothing came up, apart from scarred lungs. I was with my respiratory doctor when I noticed a pamphlet on narcolepsy and thought it sounded like me. Growing up, I couldn’t stay awake. I would fall asleep in class, I slept right through university.

Whenever I stopped, I would sleep. People would laugh about it but it wasn’t funny for me.

My doctor said “no way you have narcolepsy, you’re too fit and it normally affects obese people”. But I asked him to test me and sure enough, I was severely narcoleptic and long Covid had heightened the symptoms – I just couldn’t stay awake.

With treatment, I got my fitness back and eventually went back to marathon running. So in a way, Covid was good for me because it helped me get a diagnosis and treatment. I could have slept for the next 40 years, instead I’ll be wide awake.