The Boston Athletic Association, which organizes the Boston Marathon every year, announced new security measures for the 2014 marathon in response to the bombings last year that killed three people and left hundreds injured.

The BAA announced that no bags will be allowed in certain areas along the marathon and bags will not be allowed on the buses from Boston to Hopkinton. At Boston Commons, there will be a place for official runners to check their gear and change their clothes. A bag will be provided at that point for just this reason by the BAA. They will only be able to get their gear back after they complete the 26-mile race.

The Associated Press does note that small fanny packs will be allowed for those who need to carry medicine, a cell phone and other small items.

According to the Boston Herald, organizers also want to crack down on ‘bandit runners.’ Unregistered military marchers will also be restricted. However, they will expand the number of official runners from 27,000 in 2013 to 36,000 in 2014.

“This really is the year they need to avoid the Boston Marathon,” BAA spokesman Marc Davis said about ‘bandit runners.’ “With an already large field, it is just not the year to run if you’re not registered. We’re asking unregistered runners to just stand on the sidelines and cheer.”

The 2014 event will be the first since last year’s marathon. Two bombs went off at the finish line, allegedly planted there by brothers Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaez. Tamerlan was killed during a shoot-out with police days after the bombing, but Dzhokhar escaped. He was later caught and his trial will start in November. Three people died and over 260 others were injured.

image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons