Boston, MA
Former Boston Marathon executive shares how Boston, OKC responded in face of tragedy
Tom Grilk wouldn’t be who he is without the Boston Marathon, nor would the marathon be what it is without Tom Grilk.
The 76-year-old, now an emeritus member on the marathon’s board of governors, has been involved with the famed 26.2 mile race for more than four decades.
Grilk recently retired from his role as CEO of the Boston Athletic Association, which he held for 11 years. Before that, starting in 1979, Grilk was a Boston Marathon finish line announcer.
Grilk, a business lawyer once upon a time, got into running to manage his stress. After twice failing to qualify for the Boston Marathon, Grilk ultimately ran the race three times in the 1970s.
“And then almost by accident became a finish line announcer, which, as you might imagine, is much easier than running,” Grilk said.
Grilk was there for the Boston Marathon’s darkest day, when two bombs exploded at the finish line on race day 2013. Three people were killed.
Last month, Grilk spoke at the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum on the bond between Boston and Oklahoma City — a pair of cities, 1,700 miles apart, that responded with strength in the face of tragedy.
Grilk and Kari Watkins, the executive director of the OKC National Memorial & Museum, have gotten to know each other through the years as marathon administrators.
Ahead of this weekend’s Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon, The Oklahoman caught up with Grilk over the phone from his home in Lynnfield, Massachusetts.
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Q: What message did you share about the parallels between Boston and Oklahoma City? What were some of the similarities in how the two cities came together amid tragedy?
Grilk: “Certainly at the highest level of abstraction, the two cities share the very, very unfortunate distinction of being the only two cities in the U.S. to have confronted a terrorist bombing in recent years. And the real parallel that I was focused on was the resilience that the population of the two cities have displayed over a period of time — at the time of the tragedy and thereafter.
“In Oklahoma City, there we were at the museum, which is a testament to the resilience of the city in both looking back to the horror of what happened and focusing on what it takes to move forward in the face of something as horrible as that.
“Certainly the scope of tragedy in Oklahoma City was far greater than what we faced here. I don’t suppose one can assign different levels of gravity to tragedy, but three people died here on that day, a fourth died a few days later and a fifth died sometime after that. In Oklahoma City, 168 people died.
“In both places, what one reflects on is how horrible something was but then how strong people were. In Oklahoma City people ran into the building, ran toward the explosion to try to help. In Boston, the same thing happened. There were two explosions, and at that point the sensible thing to do is to get away. But there were people who ran back toward the explosions to help, to provide life-saving first aid.
“In Boston, we made every effort to be prepared for trouble and tragedy if it came. We had spent the preceding two years preparing for a mass casualty event at the finish line, hoping that would never happen, but knowing that it could. Whether it might be someone with firearms, or explosives, or gas or some kind of natural disaster, whatever it might be. Aided by federal funds we conducted two 24-hour live-fire-sounding exercises with police and other public safety officials running around with weapons, firing them on occasion. Ambulances screaming around, hospitals standing by to practice.
“Sadly, that practice had to be put in effect. The response was immediate. All the public safety people and the hospitals responded immediately, and then a lot of other people were just there, whether they’re spectators or runners going back to help or people who lived nearby stepping up to provide the initial life-saving support before the formal first responders could even get there. Without that, more people would’ve died. The early strength and resilience continued thereafter in Boston, and you folks have continued to see it in Oklahoma City.”
More: 2023 OKC Memorial Marathon: Al Maeder wins men’s race; Kristi Coleman wins women’s race
Q: Had you ever visited the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum before speaking there last month?
Grilk: “It was an altogether new experience. I had communicated with Kari (Watkins) over the years just as two people who were responsible for large marathons, but had never been there. She sent me a note and said, ‘Hey, now you’re retired. Get out here.’ So I went.
“There are certain people that when they speak, you do as you’re told. I was very, very pleased to have that opportunity. For my wife and me, it was an arresting opportunity and experience.”
Q: What did you learn about Oklahoma City while you were here?
Grilk: “I learned that it was, has been, is a place that responds collectively to challenge, crisis, tragedy in a way to which probably many other places could only aspire. The whole city came together instantly … the museum stands as testament to the strength, the resilience, the commitment to people who live there. To remember what happened and to carry forward in a way that honors the memory of all those whose lives were lost or who were so terribly and adversely affected.”
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Q: Since the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon is a qualifying race for the Boston Marathon, what did you share with folks here about running in the Boston Marathon?
Grilk: “I did have a chance to speak to a number of people who were going to be running in the Boston Marathon, which took place earlier this week. I told them most of all, enjoy it. Take it in. Have some fun with it. Don’t necessarily try to run your fastest race, it’s a very difficult course, it’s got a lot of hills in it. The last five miles have a lot of downhill in it which really, really hurts your upper thighs. Don’t go too hard in the beginning because you won’t enjoy the end.
“And the finish line in Boston, unlike any other major marathon in the world, is right on a great, big downtown street. You’re running into an urban canyon full of screaming people who are cheering for you. That last 670 or so yards is something one should be able to savor and experience rather than stumble through exhausted. I’ve tried it stumbling through exhausted, and that’s not the way to do it.
“I congratulated them on their accomplishment in getting there. Sometimes the hardest thing about the Boston Marathon is getting to the starting line.”
OKC Memorial Marathon
A highlighted look at next weekend’s schedule:
SATURDAY: Memorial 5K (7 a.m.), Senior marathon (8 a.m.), Kids marathon (9 a.m.)
SUNDAY: Marathon, Half Marathon and Relay races start at 6:30 a.m.
Boston, MA
Kraft Group reaches deal with Foxborough on security funding for World Cup games at Gillette Stadium – The Boston Globe
The town’s Select Board had refused to grant the entertainment license that soccer’s governing body, FIFA, needs to stage the World Cup in Foxborough.
The statement, bearing the logos of Boston’s World Cup host committee, Kraft Sports & Entertainment, and the town, said they had reached an “understanding collectively” to “finalize the details” necessary for the town to approve an entertainment license.
The agreement said Foxborough “will not incur any cost or financial burden related to the FIFA World Cup, with Boston Soccer 2026 providing advance funding for security-related capital expenditures and the full extent of deployment that public safety officials have determined is needed to execute the event with Kraft Sports + Entertainment’s backing.”
The town had set a March 17 deadline for the local organizing committee, Boston Soccer 26, FIFA, or the Kraft Group that owns the stadium to front the funds or the Select Board would not issue the necessary entertainment license.
The nearly $8 million was supposed to be delivered as part of a federal grant that was included in last year’s One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act. Massachusetts was allocated $46 million in funding for security needs, with the money originally scheduled to be released by the Department of Homeland Security in late January.
But the money has yet to be disbursed to any of the 11 US cities that are hosting games. (The full tournament, running from mid-June to mid-July, will play in 16 cities in the US, Canada, and Mexico.)
The dispute underscored what business leaders around Greater Boston said was deeper dysfunction and looming financial troubles within the Boston organizing committee, which is now scrambling to pull off the event in less than three months.
Boston Soccer 26 — dominated by allies of Patriots owner Robert Kraft — appears well short of the $170 million goal it said it needed to stage a World Cup that could draw 2 million visitors to Greater Boston. Exactly how short remains a mystery.
But the dispute with Foxborough pushed the local committee to make a rare public disclosure last week: that it had only $2 million in the bank, but anticipates depositing another $30 million soon.
That’s a fraction of what was envisioned by the organizers two years ago, spawning concerns about what the World Cup will actually look like at kickoff on June 13.
Meanwhile, in Foxborough over the last several weeks, a series of increasingly contentious meetings highlighted a David and Goliath dynamic between the five members of the town’s Select Board and a host committee working closely with FIFA, the global soccer organization that projects the quadrennial tournament to to generate $11 billion in revenues.
At the last meeting on March 3, two lawyers representing the host committee conveyed a proposal that, in part, guaranteed the Kraft Group would backstop all costs.
Board members made no effort to hide their disbelief and dismay the host committee lawyers did not arrive with essentially a check for security costs that a town with a population of some 18,000 was not equipped to fund.
“I don’t really think you’re hearing us,” said Select Board chair Bill Yukna.
Select Board member Mark Elfman was more direct.
“I find it hard to believe — I’m sorry — that you don’t know after all the discussions that have gone on over the last couple of months exactly what we want,” he said.
Foxborough Police Chief Michael Grace also dismissed the proposal, calling it a “failed strategy.”
Over the weekend, the Kraft Group issued a terse response to what it saw as the select board’s intransigence: “We are deeply disappointed that the town has seemingly reached a conclusion unilaterally without the platform of a public hearing, which is already scheduled for March 17, and would like to understand what the town requires at this stage to get to ‘yes.’ ”
Then, by Wednesday, all the parties got to “yes.”
“We look forward to moving forward together positively,” the statement concluded, “in our shared goals of providing the highest level of public safety for this historic event and delivering a global experience for our region, which will infuse the Commonwealth and Foxborough with an influx of new visitors and associated economic impact.”
The parties also singled out Massachusetts state Senator Paul Feeney, US Congressman Jake Auchincloss, Governor Maura Healey, and Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll for helping to bring about the security plan.
Michael Silverman can be reached at michael.silverman@globe.com.
Boston, MA
Shay Maloney’s overtime goal lifts Boston Fleet to road victory
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Shay Maloney scored 41 seconds into overtime and the Boston Fleet edged the Vancouver Goldeneyes 2-1 on Tuesday night.
Much of the game was a goalie duel, with neither side scoring until the third period.
Haley Winn was first to strike, getting the Fleet on the board early in the final frame with her second goal of the year.
Hannah Miller responded for the Goldeneyes with 3:26 remaining, blasting a one-timer past Boston goalie Aerin Frankel from just inside the blue line. Frankel stopped 25 of the 26 shots she faced, and the Fleet won its sixth straight game.
Kristen Campbell made 25 saves in the Vancouver net.
The win moved the Fleet back into sole possession of first place in the league standings, two points ahead of the Montreal Victoire.
Vancouver was without goalie Emerance Maschmeyer, who is listed as day to day with an upper-body injury. Kimberly Newell served as Campbell’s backup.
Boston, MA
Boston Police Blotter: Southie pub brawl leads to alleged stabbing
Two people were stabbed following an alleged bar brawl in Southie over the weekend.
According to a police report, officers arrived at Tom English’s around 10:30 p.m., Friday for a report of a fight. When they arrived on the scene, a victim told police that he was sucker punched during a fight and pointed out a person who was the “main aggressor” throughout the incident.
The suspect was pat frisked by police, but the report said they did not find any weapons. “The suspect stated that he was jumped [by the party of the victim,” the report said. “The suspect refused to cooperate any further after repeated attempts by officers to get his version of events.”
Both the suspect and victim declined EMS.
Then about an hour later, three more victims arrived at a nearby police station to report that two of them had been stabbed in the fight at Tom English. One of the unnamed victims said that the fight started after the suspect kept moving coins he put down to play pool. The suspect, according to one of the other victims, told them to meet him outside.
All parties were kicked out by a bouncer and “a large brawl ensued,” the report said. The victims told police that that suspect brandished a knife and the victims said they “fled the scene on foot fearing for their lives.”
In the report, police noted that they saw wounds on two of the victims. EMS was called to treat them.
BPD did not confirm whether the suspect was arrested.
Fireworks call leads to firearm recovery in Mattapan
Reports of fireworks led Boston Police to recover a firearm Monday night in Mattapan.
Officers responded to the area around Callender Street at about 10 p.m. for a call of shots fire, but a supervisor alerted them that individuals were shooting off fireworks.
When police got to the scene, they said they saw a group of people standing near a car that had several packages of fireworks. As officers approached, one man started to sprint towards Blue Hill Ave., throwing a jacket off as he ran, according to BPD.
Multiple officers responded to detain the suspect and a pat frisk of the jacket uncovered a ghost gun with 7 rounds in the magazine, police said.
Kahnari White, 24, of Mattapan was charged with carrying a loaded firearm without a license, carrying a firearm without a license, possession of a firearm without an FID card, and possession of a large capacity feeding device.
While the foot pursuit and arrest of White unfolded, police said the group standing with the fireworks began to become “hostile and threatening to an officer who remained with them on scene.”
One person allegedly continued to threaten an officer and bumped him on the chest as more officers arrived.
“Multiple de-escalation tactics were attempted, but the suspect continued to threaten officers,” Boston police said in a statement.
Eventually, officers were able to detain Sean Galvez, 40, of Quincy. Galvez was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, and assault and battery on a police officer.
Both suspects are expected to be arraigned at Dorchester District Court.
Gun recovered after foot chase in Dorchester
A 22-year-old from Dorchester was arrested on gun charges after police said they approached the suspect for drinking in public Monday night.
Officers saw a group on Draper St. drinking publicly around 8:30 p.m., and when they approached them, one individual started to walk away.
“When officers advised the male that he could not be drinking alcohol in public, he fled on foot,” Boston Police said in a statement. “A foot pursuit ensued, and officers stopped the suspect.”
Police recovered a Smith and Wesson M&P Bodyguard .380 with nine rounds in the magazine during a pat frisk and said that the serial number on the gun was defaced.
Denilson Pires was arrested and charged with carrying a firearm without a license, possession of ammunition without an FID card, and defacing a firearm serial number.
He is expected to be arraigned at Dorchester District Court.
Incident Summary
BPD responded to 252 incidents in the 24-hour period ending at 10 a.m. Tuesday, according to the department’s incident log. Those included one robbery, six aggravated assaults, one residential burglary, seven larcenies from a vehicle, 15 miscellaneous larcenies, and five auto thefts.
Arrests
All of the below-named defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
— Francis Haugh, 248 Albany St., Boston. Assault with a dangerous weapon.
— Ismann Nuuh, 421 Old Colony Ave., South Boston. Warrant arrest.
— Michael Buckley, 37 Washington St., Newburyport. Warrant arrest.
— Misty Lottmann, 1 Davis Sq., Somerville. Possession of a Class B drug.
— Michael Nicholls, 39 Boylston St., Boston. Threat to commit a crime.
— Yeson Silvestre, 48-52 Glenville Ave., Brighton. Unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle.
— Galvester Johnson, 123 Hamilton St., Dorchester. Assault with a dangerous weapon on a person 60 or older.
— Nilton Cardoso, 112 George St., Boston. Uninsured motor vehicle.
— Edgar Aguilar, 29 North St., Newtonville. Possession of a Class C drug.
— Jorge Guillermo Cruz Ortiz, 24 Heard St., Chelsea. Unregistered motor vehicle.
— Askia Lelaind, 47 Chestnut St., Springfield. Larceny under $1,200.
— Tewshawn Hector-Coleman, 111 Woodbine Rd., Stoughton. Warrant.
— Frammy Llaveria, 55 Vallar St., East Boston. Unarmed robbery.
— Eric Hale, 780 Albany St., Boston. Unregistered hawker & peddler ordinance.
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