<http://schema.org/articleBody>
"Crews are out at the Crossroads Shopping Center next to Highway 1 assembling the Big Sur International Marathon finish line area.Record numbers are expected this year as all races are sold out. There will also be extra security on hand after strange reports at the Crossroads Shopping Center.\"Somebody called and reported what they thought was a Middle Eastern man taking photographs at the Crossroads Shopping Center. The second one was a different male, we believe, but this particular person seemed to be inspecting an electrical panel of some sort, at the same shopping center,\" Monterey County Sheriff's Cmdr. John Thornburg said.Thornburg said the reports came in earlier this month from shop owners at the Crossroads.Action 8 News spoke with several managers in the shopping center. They all said they had heard about the reports, but hadn't seen anything suspicious themselves.Thornburg said although he believes there's no connection between the men and the marathon, he said it's better to be safe than sorry.\"We have nothing, absolutely nothing, to suggest it is related to the marathon. But because of the concerns that it's raising or could be raising, we will have extra resources assigned to the event because this did happen,\" Thornburg said.Big Sur International Marathon Race Director Doug Thurston ensures runners this weekend will be safe.\"We are not aware of any credible threat to the event. We are very confident it is going to be a safe and wonderful experience for all involved,\" he said.Thurston said he doesn't believe extra security is needed for this particular incident, especially because after the Boston Marathon bombings, he said they ramped up security and have kept it at the high level ever since.\"I think all races across the country after that tragic incident review their security plans and are working closely with our county, city, state and federal public safety officials to make sure we have the safest race possible,\" he said."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.ksbw.com/article/security-beefs-up-for-big-sur-marathon/1296962>