The '15 Boston Marathon "went off for a second consecutive year without a security hitch," but Boston Police Commissioner Williams B. Evans said that he "doubts security ... will ever return to the relaxed state that preceded the deadly" '13 bombings, according to Jack Encarnacao of the BOSTON HERALD. Evans said, “You can never be too safe. To say we’ll go back to the level we did, I don’t think so. It’s just a different world right now.” Encarnacao notes thousands of law enforcement officers "monitored the route." Evans said that "all of Boston’s 2,200 officers were activated" (BOSTON HERALD, 4/21). The AP's Jimmy Golen wrote two years after the explosions at the Marathon, "Boston Strong" was "still ubiquitous -- on shirts and signs, written in chalk on the street and shouted by spectators." But the crowds along the 26.2-mile course "were smaller than in 2014, no doubt thinned by the mid-40s temperatures, stiff wind and rain that was expected to pick up in the afternoon." Security was "visible but not intrusive for the second running since the bombings." State and local police, some riding bicycles and others on all-terrain vehicles, "were supplemented by National Guard soldiers who walked alongside the road, applauding passing runners and occasionally reaching across the temporary fencing to high-five fans." Officials were "preparing for a crowd of 1 million spectators stretched along the route" (AP, 4/20).
ALL EYES ON ME: In Boston, Barbara Matson notes Race Dir Dave McGillivray was "projecting both urgency and calm in the dawn hours" before the race. McGillivray said that "everything he could control was under control." He said that in the last two years, the Marathon "has become more of a spectacle than ever," after the tragedy of the bombings in '13 and the victory by American Meb Keflezighi in '14. McGillivray: "Without a doubt, we’re under a microscope, and everyone watches every move we make and every decision we make. It adds a layer of pressure.” But he added, “I’ve always said, pressure is a privilege" (BOSTON GLOBE, 4/21).
RAIN, RAIN GO AWAY: In Boston, Lindsay Kalter notes a "steady flow of freezing, bedraggled marathoners headed for the medical tents yesterday with symptoms of hypothermia." At least 1,000 patients "came in for help," and unlike with heat-related conditions, "most required minimal treatment" (BOSTON HERALD, 4/21).
EXTENDING THEIR REACH: In Boston, Callum Borchers noted for decades, the Boston Athletic Association "has been known for hosting the annual Boston Marathon -- but not for much else." However, now the BAA "wants to be recognized as a club that produces world-class middle- and long-distance runners who compete in events ranging from 800-meter races to marathons." With funding from adidas, the BAA last fall "recruited a small group of promising athletes, most of them recent college graduates, to join the new BAA High Performance Team, which travels to marquee races all over the world." Launching a program for elite runners also "fits into a broader effort by the BAA to raise its public profile." The BAA last week "joined adidas and the local retailer Marathon Sports in opening a new store on Boylston Street in the Back Bay that doubles as a Boston Marathon museum and a free locker room for runners." American distance running coach Terrence Mahon "plans to bring some of the 11-member high-performance team to the store, dubbed Boston Marathon RunBase, allowing recreational runners to meet some of the world’s best or even join them on a jog" (BOSTON GLOBE, 4/20).
