Thursday, 4:30 PM
Forecast for Monday: a damp, chilly Boston Marathon
By Globe Staff
Boston Marathon officials say they're adjusting their preparations to cope with stormy weather expected over the weekend, but the Monday morning race is still on.
Marathon spokesman Jack Fleming said race officials talked this morning with state officials and examined the latest forecasts and have no plans to cancel.
He said the latest forecasts call for "a little bit of relief from the heavy stuff" Monday morning -- just in time for the world-renowned contest that draws thousands of runners to the area each year.
"It doesn't mean it's going to be blue skies. It just means there will be a little bit of a break in the heavy rain situation," Fleming said.
The forecast still predicts a raw, wet, chilly day. But Fleming said the marathon medical team is prepared for it.
Peter Judge, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency, said state officials have been working with medical community officials and race organizers all week.
A variety of steps are being taken to ensure the safety of runners, Judge told Statehouse News Service, including the addition of heaters in medical tents along the race route, the prepositioning of buses near Red Cross tents, and the prepositioning of water pumps in areas along the route that are vulnerable to flooding.
Fleming also advised runners to take their own precautions.
"They should be preparing for the kind of day it looks to be with the right kind apparel -- an extra pair of footwear, the gloves, the knit hat, the plastic baggie [rain gear] that will ensure a little bit of warmth and dryness before the race starts," he said.
Because of the poor weather expected over the weekend, Fleming said, marathon organizers have accelerated some of their preparations to take advantage of the "window of good weather" right now.
He pointed to work that's been done at the finish line in Copley Square, saying tents and grandstands are going up ahead of schedule.
"At Copley Square, it looks like the race should be held in a couple of hours," he said.
