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Extra Security in Place for Boston Marathon

CBN

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Security is tight all around Boston Monday as nearly 30,000 people run the Boston Marathon.

This is the second marathon since two bombs went off near the finish line in 2013, killing three people and wounding 260 others.

Runners are required to pack their belongings in see-through bags, and spectators will be screened before entering key areas, including the start and finish line.

Security along the route has been increased. More miles of fencing separate the runners and the fans, and more officers are patrolling on bicycle.

"In some ways the plan is even deeper this year than it was last year," said Kurt Schwartz, the Massachusetts undersecretary for Homeland Security.

"Last year we built something completely new. We didn't get it 100 percent right, and we figured it out along the way," he said.

Reminders of the April 15 bombings are still easy to find two years later.

Earlier this month, a federal court jury convicted Dzhokhar Tsarnaev on all 30 counts in the bombings and the manhunt, in which an MIT police officer was killed.

Jurors will soon decide whether Tsarnaev should be sentenced to life in prison or to death.

But the city and runners are not allowing that tragedy to steal the resilient spirit of the world's oldest annual marathon, now in its 119th year.

"The healing is occurring; that's what everyone wants. They want it to be a wonderful celebration, just like it has always been. And I think that's what's happening," four-time winner Bill Rodgers said.

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