Robert Siciliano, a McAfee security consultant, ran the Boston Marathon and discusses the heightened security after the prior year's bombing. He describes the visible military and law-enforcement presence, including helicopters and patrols, and notes runner participation jumped from 23,000 to 38,000.
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Well, the Boston Marathon has brought people from all walks of life around the world to the city. We're now joined by one of today's runners, Robert Siciliano. He's a McAfee security consultant in Boston. Sir, so what was it like to run in the race?
Well, I finished. It was great. It was a great day. The weather was beautiful. The people were celebrating. Law enforcement was everywhere. There were Coast Guard helicopters flying above all day. There were state police helicopters. There were Army and Marine helicopters everywhere. There was more of a presence of law enforcement than I've seen anywhere at any time in my entire life.
So I guess it's safe to say you were not worried about your safety at all.
You know, I'm always concerned. I'm always aware. Safe security is what I do. So it's always consciously there. I didn't worry about today. I did feel safe under the, um, uh, under the control of state and local law enforcement. There was law from everywhere. Like they said, 3,500. And I have close colleagues that are responsible for setting up this whole process, and they've been working for months and months and months to make this thing happen. And they did a stellar job.
So if you were in charge of security during the Boston Marathon, would you have done anything differently?
You know, that's very difficult to say. It's 26 miles of soft target. And it is virtually impossible to secure 26 miles, never mind just the finish line. I can't say that I would have done anything differently. If anything, there could have been patrols actually on the course, but they decided not to do that. There was foot patrols on the course. And I, I thought that, uh, their presence definitely, uh, would have intimidated somebody who, uh, might have considered doing something wrong.
So, d-do you think last year's bombing, do you think it kept any runners away, or do you think it gave them more of a resolve to show up?
Well, last year, I think there was 23,000 runners, and this year there was about 38,000. So certainly, um, a lot of people throughout the world wanted to support Boston, the Boston Marathon, and the people who were victimized. And they came together, and like my friend Bob and I, we fought a hard-fought race today, and so did everybody else who showed today.
All right, well, thank you so much, Robert Siciliano, and congratulations on finishing the race. Certainly it seems like the city of Boston came together as a united city today. It's great to see that.
