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New York Marathon set to start 'with many layers of security' in wake of terrorist attack

Related Topics: New York City Marathon

USA TODAY Sports

NEW YORK – On Sunday morning, under cloudy skies and temperatures in the mid-50’s, more than 50,000 runners will start the 47th edition of the New York City Marathon.

It will be a “very-well policed event, with many layers of security,” said New York Police Department Chief Carlos Gomez, as it takes place five days after a man deliberately drove a truck onto a paved bike path in lower Manhattan, killing eight people.

Near the finish line, enhanced security was already visible. Sand trucks and blocker trucks – “the most ever used in any detail in the city” Gomez said – had been strategically deployed, as had heavy-weapons teams, hundreds of counter-terrorism officers equipped with radiation-detection devices, thousands of uniformed and plain-clothes officers, and bomb-sniffing dogs.