A microwave oven on a sidewalk detours Pittsburgh Marathon

A microwave oven left on an 11th Street sidewalk upstaged a record turnout for Sunday's Pittsburgh Marathon.

With the car bomb scare that forced the evacuation of New York City's Times Square fresh in mind, Pittsburgh police rerouted the race course, cordoned off an area near the finish line and blew up the oven.

The suspicious contents included ravioli, and Pittsburgh police believe there was no explosive device.

"It's funny because a lot of people didn't even know what was going on," Patrice Matamoros, Pittsburgh Marathon director, said of the thousands of spectators and runners packed Downtown and in the Strip District. "What we didn't want to do was create hysteria, because we had thousands of people at the finish line."

Pittsburgh police Lt. Kevin Kraus, the department's marathon commander, said an officer first noticed a suspicious object on the 11th Street sidewalk outside the Greyhound bus station about 8:20 a.m.

The marathon winners crossed the finish line about 9:45 a.m., and Kraus estimated officials stopped the race for 10 to 12 minutes to set up an 850-foot safety zone and reroute the courses.

The bomb squad dissembled — or blew up — the microwave using a robot.

"At this point, we don't believe it contained an explosive device," Kraus said. "We're investigating who put the microwave there — and if, in fact, it was a hoax to directly disrupt the marathon."

The bomb squad determined that something inside the microwave resembled an explosive, Kraus said. He declined to describe the materials pending a further evaluation.

"Certainly, from what we did see on the X-rays, we were highly concerned," he said.

Police chief Nate Harper said investigators would review images from surveillance cameras in the area to see whether the person who left the microwave could be identified.

"We have many events going on today, and after we witnessed what happened in New York City last night, we took it very seriously," he said at a news conference.

Although the police response drew national attention, the vast majority of runners and spectators seemed unaware of what was unfolding two blocks from the finish line.

Runners continued to cross the line as the sounds of music and the emcee's voice filled the air, even as an explosion was heard at 10:51 a.m. Shortly after 11 a.m., police and military volunteers started allowing people back onto 11th Street, with the remains of the microwave and ravioli still in the middle of the sidewalk.

The awards ceremony, scheduled for 11 a.m., was canceled because of the scare, and winners were told they would receive their trophies in the mail. The men's race was won by Kipyegon Kirui, 27, of Kenya in 2:17:12. Alena Vinitskaya, 36, of Belarus won the women's marathon in 2:42:33.

The Pittsburgh Marathon medical team treated 279 runners — 158 at the finish line medical tent and 121 at aid stations along the course. Race officials said 20 runners were taken to hospitals for injuries, but none was considered life-threatening.

A record 16,000 runners were registered for the marathons and accompanying events. A steady rain fell for most of the race, and although predicted storms never came, race officials said the weather was bad enough to keep spectators to a minimum along the 26.2-mile race course.

Judy Hart of Fombell in Beaver County, was with a group of about 14 people who were in the walking marathon. They saw the small white microwave between 4:30 and 5 a.m., she said.

Someone in her group joked, "We brought bagels. Do you want to heat them up?" she said.

Photo Galleries