There’s no stopping Boston Marathon, say organizers

BOSTON—Boston Marathon organizers said on Tuesday that next year’s race would go ahead as planned and that they are cooperating with law enforcement officials to find those responsible for the deadly blasts.

“We are committed to continuing that tradition with the running of the 118th Boston Marathon in 2014,” said Thomas Grilk, executive director of the Boston Athletic Association on Tuesday.

Grilk, who is a longtime Boston area lawyer, said they have been in contact with civic, state and federal law enforcement officers, who are probing the twin blasts that caused chaos in the city, killing at least three and injuring more than 170, some critically.

“We are cooperating with the city of Boston, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and all federal law enforcement officials in the investigation and the effort to bring those responsible for this tragedy to justice, so we are limited in what information we can provide,” Grilk said.

Grilk vowed the city and the world-famous marathon would bounce back from this.

“Boston is strong. Boston is resilient. Boston is our home. And Boston has made us enormously proud in the past 24 hours,” Grilk said. “The Boston Marathon is a deeply held tradition, an integral part of the fabric and history of our community.”

Grilk said they had 8,500 volunteers and 1,000 medical personnel working the event who saved lives and helped get the wounded emergency treatment. AFP