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christa0120
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Joined: 27 Sep 2003
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Location: Phoenix, Arizona, USA
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 Posted: 12/02/03 - 23:00 Post subject: question for you race fans...
Is there as much hoopla for a half marathon as there is for a full? or atleast a respectable ammount?
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jrjo
Gone Fishin
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Joined: 15 May 2002
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Location: Lake Wobegon, MN
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Posted: 12/03/03 - 00:13 Post subject: Re: question for you race fans...
| christa0120 wrote: | | Is there as much hoopla for a half marathon as there is for a full? or atleast a respectable ammount? |
If it's a "sizable" race with at least a few hundred runners, I'd say so. There might not be huge crowds and big expos, but I find halfMs definitely a few notches above 10kms or 5kms. It's a bigger job for a race director to lay out 13 miles of course, staff water stations and just in general put on a longer event, so it takes more sponsors and more coordination.
And if you're looking at a halfM that is the "shorter" race on the same day as a major marathon, they piggyback on all the hoopla and you often get all the same benes as the marathoners without having to run as far. 
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copteacher
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Joined: 08 Jun 2002
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Location: Teaching in the Halls of Justice
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Posted: 12/03/03 - 00:28 Post subject:
The Philly distance run is much bigger than the marathon. A few world's best have been had on the course and the race has been around over 25 years. It more depends on the race than the distance.
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Cappy
Excelent
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Location: Spreadsheetylvania
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Posted: 12/03/03 - 06:09 Post subject:
I agree it all depends on the race itself. Some of the biggest races are not marathons
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elkid
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Joined: 18 Nov 2002
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Location: hiding out in Philly
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Posted: 12/03/03 - 14:17 Post subject:
Yes, and yes, to the brothers Oaster. Whether you love my fair city or hate it, no one can dispute its strong support of runners. Philadelphia takes great pride in its races, hence why "The Trifecta" exists to give prominance to each of its big races. Starting with May's 10M Broad Street, continuing with the half (PDR) with an accompanying 5K, and ending in the marathon with an accompanying 8K, running here is HUGE. Po-po's right, PDR draws bigger crowds than the full, but I think that's largely because the marathon is only 2-3 weeks after NYCM.
Having run all three, Broad Street gets the biggest crowds. Seconding Cappy, it depends on the race. The biggest hoopla I've seen is for Utica's Boilermaker. The town shuts down for thus 15K, and the crowd support is unsurpassed.
I do think it's a shame that most places offer their annual half and full marathons on the same day. Why should you have to choose? Philly doesn't make you choose, neither do NYC or Boston. A half marathon is not a distance to take lightly as it requires focused, specific training, but putting it up against a full dilutes its importance - how sad.
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Noley
AZhat
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Posted: 12/03/03 - 15:18 Post subject:
| elkid wrote: | | A half marathon is not a distance to take lightly as it requires focused, specific training, but putting it up against a full dilutes its importance - how sad. |
Thank you for putting this out there. I have been mentally beating myself upwith the notion that my Half Mary training is somehow of the lesser value (not that it is at all) when I do my race come January. I'll be running a race with both the Half and Full Marathon's going on. It's nice to hear that the Half Marathon distance is still of great importance.
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jrjo
Gone Fishin
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Location: Lake Wobegon, MN
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Posted: 12/03/03 - 15:46 Post subject:
| elkid wrote: | | I do think it's a shame that most places offer their annual half and full marathons on the same day. Why should you have to choose? Philly doesn't make you choose, neither do NYC or Boston. A half marathon is not a distance to take lightly as it requires focused, specific training, but putting it up against a full dilutes its importance - how sad. |
I know you'll twinge at my "race director" spin, but really it offers a glimpse of race organization. Putting on a full marathon is not only a huge undertaking oganizationwise, but a huge financial job. Race fees I would estimate cover about 50% of a race expenses. So to get the biggest bang for the buck and not have to raise money multiple times, it makes a world of sense to put a halfM or 10M on the same day as a major marathon. Not only does it cut down on expenses and logistics, but things like certification, timing, sponsors and the like can all dovetail together for multiple events.
The shorter events are also considered "gateways" to a marathon. Getting participants in the door, so to speak, by getting them to see the course, organization and such with a halfM makes it more likely they will consider running a full the folllowing year. Some of the statistics I've seen, put major marathon "return" runners from one year to the next at around only 50%, so the halfM or other events are really the race director's best marketing tool to get next year's marathon filled.
And finally, at any point in time, few runners do actually "choose". In the grand scheme of things, marathons themselves are the lesser run event when compared to all the shorter distances. So beginning with a minority of runners running marathons to begin with and then taking into account that marathoners might only choose one or two a year on average, it becomes pretty clear that the less than historic marathons of NYCM or Boston ilk are going to simply need the shorter races to survive. I know that's the way it is around here. The Twin Cities Marathon and Grandma's Marathon get way more entries for their 10miler and halfM than the marathon itself, even though logistically they have to limit the shorter races to less runners.
Putting on marathons or road races is a tough business. I've said it before and I think Shelfie and Scorch would agree, it's something as a runner you need to do at some point to fully appreciate what all goes in to it. 
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elkid
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Joined: 18 Nov 2002
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Location: hiding out in Philly
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Posted: 12/03/03 - 16:20 Post subject:
Interesting points, j. Obviously it's a huge expense, as well as a major civil disruption, for any race to occur. But I know that many people who run NYCM also run the five borough halfs, which are staggered throughout the year (BTW, my avatar is the patch I got for running them this year  ), just as almost everyone I talked to at the Philly marathon had run PDR. The halfs are viewed as great training options and pace checkers for the bigger races, and are run in cities that fully support and encourage the running community.
Your comment "it offers a glimpse of race organization" hit the nail on the head. Philly races, as well as NYC ones, are extremely organized. Sure, there are a few bumps here and there, but that's life. They're also the cheapest around: Philly's half is $32, but its full is only $45 (though both have sponsorship from a major hospital). NYC halfs are $11 for club members, $17 for non and are fully sponsored by the club and its dues/race fees, but the full is up there ($70 or $80, I think - weird as it's sponsored by ING). But it's a testament to the ORGANIZERS why these races are cheap, very accessible, and fun. And on minimal promotion, too.
Of course there will always be more shorter distance racers than marathoners, because of the huge time commitment involved in training. Not to mention the fear of and pain from being on your feet for that long. Add that to all the logistical and financial nightmares of the organizers (I immediately think of Pittsburgh's current racing woes) and marathons are not on an even playing field with any other race length. I still contend, however, that if the municipality sponsoring the event fully supports it, regardless of the length, the event will succeed.
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