AUDIO: COVID SAFETY TOP PRIORITY AT 2021 BOSTON MARATHON

WBZ NEWSRADIO 1030

After the pandemic canceled the race in 2020 and pushed back the 2021 running of the Boston Marathon, this year's event is making COVID its top priority.

The Boston Atheltic Association plans to make sure all of the runners in this year's race are either vaccinated against COVID or get tested prior to the race. Runners will have to verify their vaccination status at the marathon expo to receive their bib number. Bibs can also be acquired with a negative COVID test done at the marathon's testing tent.

Race Director Dave McGillivray told WBZ's Mike Macklin most of the runners are vaccinated.

"The greater percentage [of runners] without a doubt are vaccinated," McGillivray said. "We communicated with them upfront so we knew what those percentages would be."

BAA CEO Tom Grilk said he believes their measures will ensure a safe race and pointed to other recent races as examples of safety measures working.

"We have done a great deal to run a safe race and we're very confident that the measures put in place have every chance to be successful," Grilk said. "There have been large marathons in London and Berlin in the last two weeks with no ill effect that we know of."

Spectators of the marathon, staff, and volunteers are not required to be vaccinated, but the BAA recommends them to be. Masks are not required at the marathon and will be in areas that already require them like public transit.