Is Bigger Better?

Last week at this time, many of us were going through our pre-race preparations to run the NYC Marathon. This years race celebrated the 40th running of what is arguably the worlds best marathon. The 2009 edition also boasted the largest field since it's inception with about 43,000 runner's stepping to the starting line. Fleet Feet Mahwah had several of our marathoners at Sundays race as well!

The size of the field begged me to answer the question, "is bigger necessarily better?"

NYRRC,  who is responsible for putting on this great event, has made some welcome and much needed changes since I last ran the race in 2007, (I missed last years race due to knee surgery) but I think that we, as runner's, are starting to suffer from the sheer size of the field.

Granted, NYC is "where the world comes to run" when it's "the marathon" but, it may be that the time has come to restrict the size of the field, and make race "quality" supercede the "quantity" of the field.And that's not saying that the NYRRC does anything short of  a phenomenal job!

True, crowds are as much a part of the NYC Marathon as ants are to picnics but, I can't ever recall running a more physical race in my life. I was elbowed, pushed, ran into, stepped on, and cut in front of, and all of this was attributable to the size of the field, as well as the lack of etiquette on the part of some runners.

The water stations were exceptionally dangerous because the concentration of runners passing through made it impossible for volunteers to rake away the cups. They piled up deeply and some of the cups turned to "pulp" from the combination of the spilled fluids, and runners stampeding over them. A "perfect" environment was created for a fall. It was also impossible for runners to bear left or right enough, so that runners passing through a water stop could do so unimpeded.

Medical stations are at every mile but, I couldn't help but wonder how their effectiveness would be impacted because of the sheer mass of runners should an emergency arise.

There were some changes that I observed that were welcome. The green starting area was moved onto the south side of the Verrazano Narrows bridge. That gave runners much more room in the starting area and allowed for many more Porta-Johns. The positive impact that had as we waited to start is obvious.

I especially liked the wave and corral starting system. I was always amazed that the start of the NYC Marathon went off as well as it did but, the wave/corral system actually made the start effortless. Further adding to it's credit, NYRRC made sure each wave got a patriotic song and the famous canon start!

The NYC Marathon adds $250 million to the city economy so, it's folly to assume my hopes that a smaller field will ever become a reality but, there are a few things that could be done to make the entire race experience more enjoyable.

• Allow runner's to have a friend pick up their numbers if they want to. Locals, who have run the race before, have been through the expo, have their gear, and want to get in and out as fast as possible. Why make them stand on endless lines and fork out exorbitant parking fees? Tri-state residents battle crowds and traffic enough in everyday life without having to go through it before the marathon. Out of town folks will patronize the expo no matter what so, vendors will "cash in" just the same.
• Reverse the finish line area so as not to "undo" the good the wave start does! The UPS trucks had the gear of the slower runners closer to the line, and the faster runners gear was further into the park. Result? The same glut after crossing the line as in other years. Bring the gear of the faster runners closer to the finish line (there are less of them). They can cross the line, get their gear, and exit the park. Put the gear of the slower runners further away from the line. (There are more of them) That would free up more room at the finish line, and lessen the glut.
• More runners mean more spectators. Keep the spectators OFF the course between mile 18 and the Willis Ave bridge. Let the runners have the needed space they need to run on 1st Ave!

The NYC Marathon is, and always will be a spectacular event for runners and the fans. I'd hate to see it ruined for the wrong reasons? If you ran it, what did you think? I'd love to hear your comments!