London Marathon boss says event will be safe as security ramped up

London Marathon chief executive Nick Bitel is confident Sunday’s race will be safe and live up to its reputation as an event at which “humanity can be united”.

Bitel announced in the wake of the Boston marathon bombings that race organisers and the Metropolitan Police had decided to employ additional security measures around the event.

Although he would not go into specific detail, Bitel described the Metropolitan Police as the best in the world at handling terror threats.

And he outlined how the Mayor of London had decreed that budgetary concerns should be parked to ensure the right security was in place.

“I am not going to get into precisely what those (security) measures are because I think that is an aid to anyone who wants to do something,” Bitel said.

“I don’t think they will. One of the great things about the London Marathon is that it is perceived as being this event that brings people together.

“One of the founding principles of the London Marathon was to show that at least on one day humanity can be united.

“We are taking every reasonable step to ensure the race is as safe and secure as possible. We instigated a full security review. Considerable extra police and our own security resources will be employed.

“The mayor made it very clear to the commissioner (of the Metropolitan Police), and the commissioner down to his staff as well, that it is about putting out the right number to send the right message.

“It is not about budget, it is not about money, it is about ensuring the police are able to do as they do every day and keep London safe and secure.

“London is one of the safest cities in the world. We saw last year with the Olympic Games the Metropolitan Police lead an incredible security effort around the Games.

“There is really no finer force in the world in answering these type of threats.”

Some of the world’s greatest marathon runners expressed their sorrow at the events in Boston — but also their determination to run without fear in London.

Kenya’s Wilson Kipsang, the 2012 London Marathon winner and Olympic bronze medallist, said: “As an athlete I would like to send our condolences to those people who lost their loved ones in Boston. We know they are going through a hard time.

“I think we are going to run (in London) feeling free because something of that kind rarely happens.

“We are really sorry for what happened in Boston but we should have no fear during the race because security matters will be put in place.”

Geoffrey Mutai ran the world’s fastest time in winning the Boston marathon in 2011 and so the events of last weekend touched him deeply.

“It was painful because those people who are there look like our families because we are together, we are runners. It was very sad for me.”