Three-time Super Bowl champion Tedy Bruschi and Mayor Marty Walsh are asking people to stay away from the Boston Marathon starting line Monday amid the coronavirus crisis.
"We all love this race, but we work stronger together as a team and as a team we will run this historic race again in September," Bruschi said, noting that he is a three-time race runner. "Stay home, stay safe, take care."
City officials and the Boston Athletic Association, which organizes the race, decided to postpone the Boston Marathon until Sept. 14 back in March because of the coronavirus crisis.
The warnings from Walsh and Bruschi come amid concerns that some people might attempt to go out and run the course on Monday.
"Every year, the Boston Marathon is supported by thousands of medical professionals and first responders from all across the state of Massachusetts," Bruschi said in a Twitter video. "This Patriots Day, I want you to support them by staying home to help flatten the curve and prevent the spread of coronavirus."
In his own Tweet, Walsh wrote, "stay home, so we can all stay safe. We'll be back, stronger than ever, when we get through this crisis together."
Hopkinton town officials are also urging people not to run the marathon route Monday, implementing parking restrictions downtown, in the Town Common and near the starting line to act as a deterrent.
“In the spirit of keeping not only those who run, but the citizens of Hopkinton and its first responders safe, we are asking everyone to continue complying with the Commonwealth’s Stay-at-Home Advisory,” Hopkinton Select Board Vice Chair and BAA Liaison John Coutinho said.
Every year, 4,000 local, state and federal law enforcement officers, 480 members of the National Guard and 1,900 medical personnel support the Boston Marathon on Patriots’ Day, according to the BAA. But right now, they are all working the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We urge anyone considering running the Boston Marathon course this weekend to stay home, follow social distancing guidelines, and help flatten the curve. Groups of runners would divert valuable, urgent resources from the cities and towns along the course," a BAA spokesperson said. "We must work together to stop the spread of coronavirus, so we can run again in September."
