TORONTO – Marathon officials in Toronto and Mississauga are reviewing security measures after two explosions metres from the finish line at the Boston Marathon killed three people and injured more than 100.
Three large summer marathons will bring thousands of runners and spectators to Toronto and Mississauga and organizers say the tragedy in Boston is forcing them to rethink how they keep participants and spectators safe.
“I’m sure we’ll all pull together to do everything we possibly can to revise our security and safety manuals to make sure that marathons continue to be wonderful, joyful spectacles on the world stage,” Alan Brookes, race director of Canada Running Series, which organizes Toronto’s Scotiabank Marathon said Monday.
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Brookes, who was participating in the Boston Marathon Monday, said he was “shaken” by the tragic event.
“The day turned from that sort of triumph and sense of joy and achievement that you get in a marathon to this terrible tragedy,” he added.
On May 5, upwards of 14,000 people are expected to fill Yonge Street for the annual 10 kilometre Toronto marathon.
Approximately 250 Toronto police officers usually secure the marathon and race officials are expected to review that number in the wake of Monday’s events.
“We are monitoring very closely the tragic events that occurred yesterday in Boston,” Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair said. “At the present time there is no intelligence or information that provides us with a credible threat here in the city of Toronto.”
“We have to respond to threats and not just speculation,” he added.
On the same weekend, thousands will gather near the lakeshore in Mississauga for the city’s annual marathon.
Ben McCarty, race director for the Mississauga Marathon, issued a statement Monday saying organizers and police will review “security plans and safety procedures to determine what adjustments will be made.”
Mayor Rob Ford interrupted an executive committee meeting Monday to share sympathies for the victims in Boston and assure the public that law enforcement and city officials are reviewing security measures for the summer’s events.
– With files from The Canadian Press
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