Hub group sends support south for NYC Marathon
Boston Athletic Association officials are heading to New York as tens of thousands of runners prepare to run 26.2 miles through the city’s streets just days after a terrorist attack killed eight people in lower Manhattan.
BAA CEO Tom Grilk is part of a group of more than dozen Boston Marathon officials who will be in New York to meet with organizers from the major marathons around the world — including Boston, New York, Chicago, London, Berlin and Tokyo.
Grilk said he has been in constant communication with New York race organizers and the BAA is ready to pitch in if needed.
“They know that they have our support and if there is anything they would like to have, they will have it, instantly,” Grilk said.
The New York Road Runners, which organizes the marathon, canceled prerace events yesterday out of respect to the victims of Tuesday’s terror attack and their families. The group released a statement saying it would work closely with local, state, and federal law enforcement on security for the race, which starts on Staten Island and winds through all five boroughs. An estimated 50,000 people are expected to run.
“For this weekend’s marathon, as with all of our events, the safety and security of our runners, staff, volunteers, and spectators is our top priority,” the statement reads.
Grilk predicted, “It will be what it always is, a magnificent event at all levels ... it will be a very visible and vocal and voluble response of resilience, strength, and determination.”
The NYRR has not reached out to the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency or the Massachusetts State Police for assistance, spokesmen for the two agencies said. State police have not found a connection between the suspect, who plowed a truck into a bike lane Tuesday afternoon, and Massachusetts.
‘... they have our support and if there is anything they would like to have, they will have it, instantly.’ — TOM GRILK CEO of BAA