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Police Commissioner Bill Evans Finishes 19th Boston Marathon

BOSTON (CBS) - The city's top cop made a triumphant return to the Boston Marathon Monday--though he kept his run under wraps.

"I wanted to keep it quiet right up until game time," Evans told WBZ-TV's David Wade, citing possible security threats. "I have all the confidence in my men and women."

Police Commissioner Bill Evans finished the race in 3:50:30.

"Well, I used to do 2:51, but I was a lot younger then!"

Boston Marathon 2017
Boston Police Commissioner Bill Evans finished the 2017 Boston Marathon in 3:50:30. (Photo credit: Boston Police)

"The course looked great," he added. "A little hot though, not a lot of shade."

This was his 52nd overall marathon and 19th time running Boston.

It was his first Boston Marathon since 2013. Four years after the bombings, Evans wants the public to know things are back to normal.

"If I'm back running it, it says everyone should run it," he said. Among the other runners was Evans' son John, who completed his first Boston Marathon.

"I had no qualms about the safety of this race, it was great," Evans said. "And you run it for the memory of all those young kids who died here four years ago."

In case anything did happen, the commissioner carried a phone with him as he ran the course this year--a first for the experienced marathoner.

"Two days ago I had to go out and buy this pack, just in case," Evans said, showing off the fanny pack where he kept the cell phone. "Heaven forbid, if something happened, my guys were sort of shadowing me along the course in their vehicle. It's a crazy world, and I didn't want to be out of the loop. My priority is the safety of the city."

Wade told Evans that one of his detectives jokingly said he was getting a bit slower as he gets older.

"Who said that, porky over there? He can't even walk around the block," Evans replied, with a laugh.

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