The tragedy at the Boston Marathon on Monday hit close to home for many runners around the country. One of them was Hoda, who never imagined that the finish line of a race could turn into a scene of such carnage.
"This is one of those iconic days and places and times," Hoda said of the marathon, which she ran once years ago.
"What happens when you're so joyful, and you're coming near the end of something you've worked so hard for, like all these runners were ... when you're so close to the finish line, and then this horrific explosion happens," she said, groping for words. "It just caught me ... I can only imagine runners might have thought from far away it was a cannon or fireworks or some kind of celebration."
Hoda said watching the coverage on Monday brought her back to her own experience running the Boston Marathon in memory of her father.
"It just reminded me of that last stretch," she said. "And your heart pounds ... I remember clearly what it feels like in that stretch, because you can think of nothing but the cause you're running for, or the fact that you've accomplished something. And in the middle of all that joy, I think that's one of the most horrific emotions I can even think of."
Kathie Lee took a moment to thank the first responders in Boston who were already at the finish line for the race, and said their presence was "one of the great miracles" of the tragedy.
"Your heart just leaps for joy that there are people (like this) still on this planet," KLG said of the first responders, adding that people behind attacks like this "ultimately bring out the very best in others, the ones they seek to harm."
The ladies grieved the losses of those killed in the attack, and said the bombings just brought home how fragile life is. "Our hearts and prayers go out to all the victims, and all the people who are traumatized who will never be the same because of it," KLG said.