| Newsday | - |
Security
was a top priority Sunday at the start of the New York City Marathon
amid cool temperatures and a stiff wind from the north, officials said.
Highlights and Analysis: New York City MarathonNew YorkNew York City Marathon goes on amid heavy security
Photo credit: AP | Police and U.S. Coast Guard helicopters fly
overhead as runners cross the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge at the start of
the New York City Marathon. (Nov. 3, 2013)
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This year's race marked the return of the marathon after a one-year hiatus due to superstorm Sandy.
The 47,000 runners are also competing for the first time since the April Boston Marathon bombing, which left three people dead and more than 260 injured.
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Runners had to file through a security checkpoint before the start. Blue police department barricades blocked intersecting streets and police cruisers and ambulances were evident along the route.
The heavy security included a bomb-sniffing dog near the finish line and barricades around Central Park limit entry points, bag checks and scuba divers in the waters. There are also some 1,500 cameras along the running route, police officials said.
Shortly before 9 a.m. the first wave of wheelchair or handicapped racers zipped by Fourth Avenue and Union Street in Brooklyn on wheels.
At 9:10 a.m. the professional women began their run, with the professional men starting at 9:40 a.m. Wave 2 of marathon runners went off at 10:05 a.m. with Wave 3 at 10:30 a.m. and Wave 4 leaving at 10:55 a.m.
The band Hell or High Water began its set with "Rollin' on the River" shortly before 9 a.m. as handicapped racers whizzed.
Guitar player Tom Wipf, 57, of Park Slope, said the group had played at the marathon for five years.
"We're glad to be back. We understood all the decisions that had to be made," he said of last year's cancellation.
"We stay here until the very last runner goes by," he said in an interview before playing. "Every single runner has some motivation -- whether they're running for a charity or a personal reason . . . it's powerful stuff," he said.
Mandy Wynn, 35, of Prospect Heights, came early with her 6-year-old twins and husband, to cheer on handicap competitors.
"Anyone who chooses to push themselves is remarkable, and I like to be reminded of that," she said.
Wynn said she also has 10 friends racing in the marathon and has come for the race early every year for 11 years -- the last few with kids in tow.
When asked about any security concerns she had about the race, she said, "In the back of my mind, sure . . . I think about it. I'm still a New Yorker," she said.
The race starts at the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge in Staten Island and goes through Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, the Bronx and back into Manhattan.
The anti-terrorism operation at Sunday's New York City Marathon will be among the largest ever carried out across the five boroughs, as authorities employ new tactics in response to the Boston Marathon bombings, officials said.
Federal authorities and police are treating the marathon as a potential terrorist target, bolstering security to an unprecedented level for the event and working closely with U.S. intelligence agencies to sniff out any plots, according to a federal law enforcement source in New York with knowledge of the security measures and a city police official.
New elements of the plan include more bomb-sniffing dogs on patrol, high-tech explosives detection equipment, police boats and divers stationed on the city's waterways, intensive video surveillance, and the presence of thousands of additional private security workers, police officers and plainclothes law enforcement.
Spectators who want to cheer from the marathon finish line were screened for weapons and explosives. Any bag carried within blocks of the racecourse was searched. Participants in the marathon's opening parade were not allowed to march with bags, race officials said.
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