SEASIDE HEIGHTS, N.J. (AP) – Organizers of a Marine Corps charity race in New Jersey marred by terrorism a year ago say they were forced to move Saturday’s event to a neighboring town because of a sharp increase in registrants.
The race’s resumption a year after a bomb went off shortly before hundreds of runners were about to take off shows the region’s resiliency, organizers say. But this year’s Seaside Semper Five race will also have increased security, with trash cans removed along the race route in Seaside Heights and manhole covers sealed.
“It was a jolt at first, but then it got me angry thinking that lots of people could have been hurt,” said Tommy Leopold, 46, of Old Bridge, who was lined up to run in last year’s event before it was canceled. “We had a good crowd of runners and their families out there that day, and we will again this year. It’ll be a show of strength. We’re ready to rock.”
In a photo taken Thursday, Sept. 14, 2017, Frank Costello, organizer of the Semper Five charity run in Seaside Heights, N.J., poses for a photograph at the site of the start and finish lines for the race. It’s been a year since a pipe bomb blast disrupted the charity race to benefit Marines and marked the start of a two-day reign of terror in the region. But organizers of Saturday’s race say its resumption amid tight security shows the region’s resiliency. The blast occurred just before the start of last year’s race. No one was injured, but the event was canceled. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
The increase in runners comes as both a response to the bombing and shows people’s support for the military, said race organizer Frank Costello.
The bomb was planted by Ahmad Khan Rahimi as the start of a two-day reign of terror in the region, authorities say.
Several hours after the blast, another bomb exploded in New York’s Chelsea section, wounding 29 people. The next night, a homeless man and his friend alerted authorities after they found a backpack full of explosives in a trash can near a train station in Elizabeth, New Jersey. Five devices were in the bag, including one that exploded while a bomb squad robot attempted to disarm it.
Rahimi, an Afghanistan-born man living in Elizabeth, was arrested the next morning after he was seriously injured in a shootout with police in Linden. He has pleaded not guilty to charges related to the bombings and is being held without bail while awaiting his trial , which is scheduled to start Oct. 2.
No one was injured in the Seaside Park explosion, mostly because the start of the race had been delayed because of a large number of late entrants, or by the devices found in Elizabeth. But the situation frightened many in a region where the Sept. 11 attacks still reverberate strongly.
Elizabeth Mayor Chris Bollwage, a Democrat, said there’s “definitely a heightened sense of awareness,” even though no similar incidents have occurred in the past year.
“Garbage cans, autos can now be used for very dangerous missions, where in the past no one would have given a second thought about them,” he said. “It’s scary for many people, but it’s made them more vigilant.”
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FILE – This Sept. 17, 2016, file photo shows roads closed along the route of a charity race for military soldiers that was canceled after an explosive device detonated in a garbage pail before the start of the event in Seaside Park, N.J. One year after a pipe bomb blast at the New Jersey shore disrupted a charity race to benefit Marines, organizers of the Semper Five race say its resumption Saturday, Sept. 16, 2017, amid tight security shows the region’s resiliency. (Robert Sciarrino/NJ Advance Media for NJ.com via AP, File)
FILE – In this Dec. 20, 2016, file photo, Ahmad Khan Rahimi, accused of setting off bombs in New Jersey and New York City’s Chelsea neighborhood in September 2016, sits in court in Elizabeth, N.J. One year after a pipe bomb blast at the New Jersey shore disrupted a charity race to benefit Marines, organizers of the Semper Five race say its resumption Saturday, Sept. 16, 2017, amid tight security shows the region’s resiliency. (AP Photo/Mel Evans, File)
FILE – In this Sept. 17, 2016, file photo, law enforcement officers stand on D Street during an investigation of an explosive device that detonated in a garbage pail before a charity race to benefit military soldiers in Seaside Park, N.J. One year after a pipe bomb blast at the New Jersey shore disrupted a charity race to benefit Marines, organizers of the Semper Five race say its resumption Saturday, Sept. 16, 2017, amid tight security shows the region’s resiliency. (Robert Sciarrino/NJ Advance Media for NJ.com via AP, File)
In a photo taken Thursday, Sept. 14, 2017, Frank Costello, organizer of the Semper Five charity run in Seaside Heights, N.J., poses for photograph near the site of the start and finish lines for the race. It’s been a year since a pipe bomb blast disrupted the charity race to benefit Marines and marked the start of a two-day reign of terror in the region. But organizers of Saturday’s race say its resumption amid tight security shows the region’s resiliency. The blast occurred just before the start of last year’s race. No one was injured, but the event was canceled. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
In a photo taken Thursday, Sept. 14, 2017, Frank Costello, organizer of the Semper Five charity run in Seaside Heights, N.J., works on signs promoting the race. It’s been a year since a pipe bomb blast disrupted the charity race to benefit Marines and marked the start of a two-day reign of terror in the region. But organizers of Saturday’s race say its resumption amid tight security shows the region’s resiliency. The blast occurred just before the start of last year’s race. No one was injured, but the event was canceled. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
In a photo taken Thursday, Sept. 14, 2017, a woman is seen through a fence displaying a sign for the Semper Five charity run as she sunbathes on the beach in Seaside Heights, N.J. It’s been a year since a pipe bomb blast disrupted the charity race to benefit Marines and marked the start of a two-day reign of terror in the region. But organizers of Saturday’s race say its resumption amid tight security shows the region’s resiliency. The blast occurred just before the start of last year’s race. No one was injured, but the event was canceled. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
In a photo taken Thursday, Sept. 14, 2017, Frank Costello, organizer of the Semper Five charity run in Seaside Heights, N.J., poses for a photograph at the site of the start and finish lines for the race. It’s been a year since a pipe bomb blast disrupted the charity race to benefit Marines and marked the start of a two-day reign of terror in the region. But organizers of Saturday’s race say its resumption amid tight security shows the region’s resiliency. The blast occurred just before the start of last year’s race. No one was injured, but the event was canceled. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
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