PITTSBURGH — The 2014 edition of the Boston Marathon had added importance for many of the 36,000 participants, Steel Flynn among them.

The 2007 Butler High graduate ran in last year’s event, completing the course in two hours and 45 minutes. Not long after finishing, two bombs exploded near the finish line, killing three people and injuring more than 250 others.

“I was about a block and a half away when it happened,” Flynn said. “I heard this loud noise, but thought nothing of it. You hear loud noises in big cities all the time. But moments later, an ambulance came tearing down the street.

“I started making my way back toward the finish line and people had a panicked look on their faces. At the time, I thought there had been a shooting. Then a friend texted me and asked if I was OK. He had seen it on the news and that’s how I found out what had happened.”

Flynn, who has now competed in six marathons, including ones in Pittsburgh (2012), Washington, D.C. (2012), Philadelphia (2013) and San Antonio (2013), admits he initially had second thoughts about returning to run in Boston.

“I thought about it for a while, but once registration opened for it in September, I knew it was something I wanted to do,” Flynn said.

“There was a big push for more runners this year,” he added. “The Boston Athletic Association opened up a couple of thousand more spots and as far as I know, they were filled. People wanted to show that (the bombings) couldn’t stop them from competing.”

This year’s event was held April 21 and Flynn finished in 2:40:11.

“I was hoping to get below 2:40 this time and I fell 11 seconds short,” Flynn said. “I was a little bummed about that, but I did set a personal record and I’m always striving for that.

“Everybody was very excited this year,” he added. “It seemed like there were more fans and it was an empowering atmosphere. It was incredible.”

Beginning in December, Flynn estimates that he ran 1,000 miles to prepare. Training in and around Pittsburgh is a bonus.

“I live on Mount Washington,” he said. “Hill running makes you a better runner. There are some notorious hills in the Boston course and running around here helps prepare you for that.”

While his next marathon has yet to be scheduled, Flynn continues to run ... and enjoys every minute of it.

“First and foremost, I love running,” he said. “I’m pretty busy right now with grad school and running is my release.”