No More Baggage?

As a running specialty store, it should come as no surprise to anyone that we here at Fleet Feet Sports Mahwah are big fans of marathons. Located in northern NJ, a suburb of Manhattan, we love the NYC Marathon. We, along with our customers who've run the NYC marathon, have always admired the outstanding job that the New York Road Runner's club has done to make the NYC Marathon the greatest marathon in the world, staged in the greatest city in the world.  It was a run that always had the best interests of the runners in mind. Sadly,  a decision made by them, that was communicated this week to the 2012 participants, tarnished that admiration.



Participants in this years race were sent emails notifying them that the "baggage check" service, that is so crucial to those running in a "point to point" marathon, like NYC, would no longer be provided to them. The unanimous reaction from our customers has been, "they gotta be kidding!" There have been many other angrier protests which, are better left unsaid in this type of forum.  Well, the NYRRC aren't kidding. They maintain that they need to eliminate the baggage trucks, those that made up the famed "UPS brown caravan," in order to relieve post race congestion in Central Park. They assure that as a result, runners will be able to conveniently exit the park in 30 minutes, to meet family members (who presumably will have the baggage that WOULD have been checked) outside the park. To be fair, yes, finish line congestion is a hassle due to the size of the field that gets larger, as the NYC Marathons popularity grows each year and more runner's are let in. It's also proved to be a problem that the NYRRC has not found a way to solve. That too is a rarity considering how much of the race goes on without a hitch, year after year.

We feel that the elimination of those trucks isn't the answer, and we, along with dozens of our customers feel that this is just one of a series of NYRRC decisions relative to the marathon, that favors the international runner and runners from outside the tri-state area. Here's why we feel that way.

The NYC Marathon has a tremendous positive economic impact on the city. Last year, approximately 47,000 runners were in the field. A large majority of them came from outside the tri-state area. In 2010, it contributed $350 million to the NYC economy.  That's big bucks and in these economic times a boom to any city, no less NY, which is still recovering from the attacks on Sept 11. The more, the merrier.

If you're from the tri-state area, you can gain entry into the race from the following:

• The lottery, where your chances are about as good as hitting the Powerball lottery
• Run by raising money for a charity. (Upwards of $2000 depending on the requirement that year and if you can get in before it's cut-off)
• If you're a NYRRC member, run in 9 NYRRC sponsored qualifying races, and also serve as a race volunteer in one of them. As a result, these races have always been popular and now entry is cut-off to limit the amount of runners.
• Running a marathon that meets minimum qualifying standards time wise by age and gender.

In the past, you used to be able to get a guaranteed entry after being declined in the lottery 3 successive times. This policy is being eliminated. (The chances for a US citizen outside the tri-state area gaining enrty increases dramatically, and an international entrant is almost a guarantee.)

You also were able to gain entry after completing 15 NYC Marathons. That policy is also being eliminated UNLESS you're currently a member of the "15 Club" or you hit your 15 by 2015.

So, you can see that the "local" runner has gradually gotten squeezed, as they try to gain entry into the NYC Marathon and that brings us back to the "no baggage service" decision.

As stated earlier, we, and all of our customers we've spoken to, feel this is another strike against the local runner. Many local runners do not meet their families at the family re-union areas because it's too crowded and a hassle. Furthermore, family and friends of runners who reside in NYC outside of Manhattan, often watch their loved ones run in one of the other 4 boroughs, where they live. Either way you look at it, if you don't have your baggage checked and waiting for you at the finish, you have two options. One, have someone lug your "stuff" around for you all day, and force them to meet you at the already crowded family re-union area or, two, accept the plastic poncho you'll get, and travel home in the shoes and clothes you wore to run 26.2 miles in. YUCK! Never mind if it's frigid or raining on race day which adds insult to injury. It also forces a "lone runner" to carry essentials with them while they run the race, like keys, money, and cell phones. Many of "us" don't want to be encumbered carrying along "stuff" that's not needed to run the race. Besides, Central Parks' logistics on race day make it the LAST place any veteran local marathoner will want to meet their family. If they are forced to now, the scene on Central Park West and the surrounding neighborhood will be mayhem like never before.

The family re-union area is a favorite of out of towners to be sure. Those runners will be met, and it's  easier for their family members to serve as their "baggage check." It's also a shorter commute to their local hotel if they don't carry around their bags all day.

Either way, ALL runners loose by this decision.  Those who have to travel home to the outer boroughs, suburban NY, NJ or Connecticut lose the most. Sadly, many of the folks who patronize our store feel that this decision was the "icing on the cake" that made up their minds that they no longer will run the NYC Marathon. We hate to think that this is exactly what the NYRRC wants, but, when viewed along with other decisions that have made getting into the NYC Marathon that much harder for locals, it's hard to think otherwise.

We think that this decision to scrap the baggage check is a bad one. What do you think? We'd love to hear your opinion.