LUCAS JACKSON/REUTERS
Nearly 50,000 runners are already making their way through the five boroughs of the city in the annual New York City Marathon - with tenfold that number of fans and security officials lining the route to ensure safety.
Police officers were "everywhere," several race fans told The News, with foot patrols on many corners in response to the bombing at the Boston Marathon earlier this year.
But security or not, marathon mavens said New York was the place to be.
"My cousin said, 'Why are you going? Look what happened in Boston,'" said London tourist Jackie Morrison, 49. "I said, 'This is here. This is now. You can't be scared.'"
Morrison, like others cheering for competitors in the 26.2-mile test of champions said she loves the event for its "atmosphere."
"It's energetic. And the wheelchair athletes are so inspiring."
Maria Murphy, 55, journeyed from Toms River, N.J., where she survived her own scare last year: Hurricane Sandy.
"There is electricity in the air. No one is fearful. There are police all over the place," said Murphy, wearing a "Restore the Shore" sweatshirt.
"What should you be scared about?" added Richard Lindo, 58, from Bedford-Stuyvesant. "Just because something happened in Boston, doesn't mean it will happen here."
with Gersh Kuntzman
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