New York terror attack: ‘I’m not going to be fearful,’ area NYC Marathon entrant says

A Dayton Public Schools employee and veteran runner will be among the thousands of competitors Sunday for the New York City Marathon, for which officials are promising massive security in the wake of the deadly terror attack in lower Manhattan on Tuesday afternoon.

"I'm not going to be fearful," Peter Vlasic told News Center 7's Caroline Reinwald on Wednesday night. "But I'm going to be vigilant. I'm going to have my eyes open."

Sayfullo Saipov, a 29-year-old Uzbek national, is charged by federal prosecutors who accuse him of plowing a rented truck down a West Side bike path, killing eight people and injuring 11 more in the worst terror attack in New York City since Sept. 11, 2001.

UPDATES: The latest on the New York City terror attack

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio told the New York Post, "You'll see ... a lot of officers with long guns. We're confident it will go off as planned, and it will be safe."

Even with all the planned security, some of the best advice is the simplest.

"We are looking at our smartphones, we're listening to music, we're kind of within ourselves," said Tim Shaw, vice president of operations for SP Global Inc. and a former FBI special agent.

"When you're in a big city or an area where that could be a target for a terrorist, you need to keep your head on a swivel and keep your eyes open,” he said.

Vlasic, the estimated 51,000 other runners and 2.5 million spectators won't let what happened in Lower Manhattan deter their excitement for the event. He said his focus is on the finish line.

"I think New York City will have stellar security and actually given the incident, will be even more beefed up," said Vlasic, a 21-year DPS employee. He hopes to finish the race in 4 hours, 20 minutes.

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