At the crack of a starting pistol, tens of thousands will run the 10-kilometer BolderBOULDER on the morning of Monday, May 27. But America’s third largest road race (last year, 52,000 participated) will take place after three died and more than a hundred were injured in the nation’s iconic Boston Marathon on Monday.
So how will it be different this time around?
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BolderBOULDER Race Director Cliff Bosley has the answers.
Collegian: In general, what impact will this have on the race’s security measures?
Bosley: “Irrespective of what happened in Boston, before today, we were having conversations about safety and security. After today, the specifics of what are still yet sort of coming from Boston, we’ll know more… Working closely with law enforcement has been something we’ve done since the 2002 race, but then, as a response to the terrorist attacks against the country. That has been the priority, year in and year out, for the last… 12 races.”
Collegian: What specifically will change?
Bosley: “It may be too soon to react and say, ‘Here’s what we’re going to do, here’s what we’re not going to do.’ But more that, our mindset before this even occurred is, we’re going to very closely partner with law enforcement agencies… We don’t know exactly what the plan will be, but the great news is we’ve got great law enforcement security partners, we’ve got great advice, we’ve got good history with these guys, and so there’s still a very collaborative conversation about the best way to continue keep our participants safe.”
Collegian: Have you heard from those who have already registered to participate in the BolderBOULDER? If so, what’ve they said?
Bosley: “They’re not going to be held captive by stuff like this, and are more excited and energized about wanting to go out and run.”
Collegian: Are you or the other BolderBOULDER organizers expecting less people to participate in the race?
Bosley: “I think a lot of that will depend on what happens over the course of the next few days and what they find…”
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Collegian: As you and other organizers continue to have discussions with Boulder law enforcement agencies in preparation for the race, will you consider increasing security, just like other organizers of other races have stated?
Bosley: “There’s going to be a number of races, like London, like what they do in Arizona. The next big one that will come after that in early May is Spokane, Washington, with (thousands of) people. And then the ‘Bay to Breakers’ in San Francisco. Another big race in New York called the ‘Healthy Kidney Run’ … the main part of about that is that these are all big events that precede the Bolder Boulder. It sounds sort of cliché but, there will be best practices that evolve out of each of these things that I think we will be able to benefit from, and so will local law enforcement.”
