<p>Sunday’s London Marathon will take place amid a climate of heightened security and increased vigilance following the fatal bomb attacks that plunged the Boston Marathon into tragedy.<br /><br />The twin blasts that killed three and wounded more than 180 in Boston on Monday have prompted organisers of the London race to ramp up security measures in a bid to reassure runners and the half a million spectators expected to line the route.<br /><br />Extra police will patrol the course, which snakes alongside the River Thames and passes <br />iconic landmarks including Tower Bridge, the Houses of Parliament and Queen Elizabeth II’s Buckingham Palace residence, as well as the huge Canary Wharf business development.<br /><br />The British government has promised to take no shortcuts in its attempts to secure the safety of all those involved on Sunday.</p>.<p>The head of the Metropolitan Police's London marathon operation, Julia Pendry, said on Friday there would be several hundred more officers on the streets than had originally been planned for Sunday's race.</p>.<p>"We've got more search dogs out, we've got more officers on high-visibility patrols," she told reporters gathered outside the Metropolitan Police headquarters at New Scotland Yard, less than two kms from the marathon’s finish line.<br /><br />The increased policing was intended to reassure the 36,000 runners and the hundreds of thousands of supporters.<br /><br />"There is no change to the threat level at this time to London," she said. "There is no link at this time between the Boston marathon and the London marathon, so come out and enjoy the day as normal."Fears of a serious incident have receded slightly after the funeral procession of former prime minister Margaret Thatcher through the streets of the British capital on Wednesday passed off without incident.<br /><br />However, thoughts of the Boston horror will inevitably linger over the race, which will be preceded by a 30-second period of silence to remember the victims of the attacks.<br /></p>
<p>Sunday’s London Marathon will take place amid a climate of heightened security and increased vigilance following the fatal bomb attacks that plunged the Boston Marathon into tragedy.<br /><br />The twin blasts that killed three and wounded more than 180 in Boston on Monday have prompted organisers of the London race to ramp up security measures in a bid to reassure runners and the half a million spectators expected to line the route.<br /><br />Extra police will patrol the course, which snakes alongside the River Thames and passes <br />iconic landmarks including Tower Bridge, the Houses of Parliament and Queen Elizabeth II’s Buckingham Palace residence, as well as the huge Canary Wharf business development.<br /><br />The British government has promised to take no shortcuts in its attempts to secure the safety of all those involved on Sunday.</p>.<p>The head of the Metropolitan Police's London marathon operation, Julia Pendry, said on Friday there would be several hundred more officers on the streets than had originally been planned for Sunday's race.</p>.<p>"We've got more search dogs out, we've got more officers on high-visibility patrols," she told reporters gathered outside the Metropolitan Police headquarters at New Scotland Yard, less than two kms from the marathon’s finish line.<br /><br />The increased policing was intended to reassure the 36,000 runners and the hundreds of thousands of supporters.<br /><br />"There is no change to the threat level at this time to London," she said. "There is no link at this time between the Boston marathon and the London marathon, so come out and enjoy the day as normal."Fears of a serious incident have receded slightly after the funeral procession of former prime minister Margaret Thatcher through the streets of the British capital on Wednesday passed off without incident.<br /><br />However, thoughts of the Boston horror will inevitably linger over the race, which will be preceded by a 30-second period of silence to remember the victims of the attacks.<br /></p>