Almost Half the Runners in the NYC Marathon Were Supposed to Race Last Year

Among the more than 47,000 runners set to race in this year’s New York City marathon, there are more than 21,000 who were supposed to run the race last year. But after Hurricane Sandy rolled in, the event was cancelled. About 6,000 of those who didn’t run last year will take a spot next year. And there will be 16,000 more of 2012′s runners in 2015′s race. New York’s marathon is the country’s largest, and it’s always an intense contest. But this year, there are added layers of tension, both because of last year’s cancelled race and the bombings at the Boston Marathon. The New York Road Runners have spent twice as much on security than in years past. CNBC estimates that they’ve dropped $1 million on securing the race:

Spectators will see more barricades, fencings, security checkpoints and private security guards on site, according to Peter Ciccia, technical director for the ING NYC Marathon. Runners will be screened at the start on Staten Island, and stripped of certain gear for the race.

The club has also banned masks from the race—so that police can see everyone’s face—and water-filled Camelbaks, to keep people from bringing in anything potentially dangerous. The NYPD has also installed 100 cameras around the route, to watch each area at all times. There was even debate about whether or not to allow any bags into the finish area at all, since that’s how the bombs in Boston were carried in But, in the end, the NYRR decided not to ban them. More from Smithsonian.com: Wilson Kipsang Just Broke the Marathon World Record These Are the Arguments That Convinced NYC to Cancel the Marathon

Rose Eveleth | | READ MORE

Rose Eveleth was a writer for Smart News and a producer/designer/ science writer/ animator based in Brooklyn. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, Scientific American, Story Collider, TED-Ed and OnEarth.