A simple question with a complex answer - apologies for the lengthy response.
RAM Racing had an identical problem with last year's Hot Chocolate in Chicago. 40K people running along the lakefront. Nowhere to park - late start, improper finishing times, no awards, etc.
This year, race moved downtown. Was better - but still no one raves about it. People still flocked for the Chocolate though.
Vegas Marathon has had problems for years, thought they would be improved with the Competitor taking over from Devine, no such luck as it appears.
Look, more and more races are coming into the sport to satisfy the majority of runners who do NOT come to this site, who are interested in the experience, not the fast time, who want their T-Shirt and their food - because you need to replenish after a 42 minute 5K. That's not a bad thing from a macro sense, it will help tremendously on future long term healthcare by helping people do something other than eating potato chips while watching the Food Network.
But really, the difference between large races now and those in the past is the simple mentality of competition for competition's sake. It was a race, not an event, back then. (and yes, there were races back 20+ years ago with more than 20,000 runners where you had to run under 55:00 for a 10K to get your shirt)
Off the soapbox - as a veteran of over 1,000 races in the last 34 years and a director of multiple races, here's what runners need and want.
Accuracy - accurate course, accurate splits at the mile marks, accurate finish results.
Convenience - convenient to get to (you'd be amazed how few people will travel more than 10 miles to get to a race), ease of the little things - registration, packet pickup, portajohns, parking - which make it a good experience.
Something unique - something different gets people in. A unique award, a tremendous shirt, a fast course with competition, a great amount of chocolate at the finish - that's what people want to come to a race. There needs to be some reason to select this race over any other that weekend - at least in the major metropolitan areas. On Mother's Day weekend this year my area had 23 separate races - some with 5K & 10K options. How does one choose?
Those of you thinking prize money - hah. No one cares. Sorry. There was a local 10K here offering prize money years ago. Loaded field - 31:05 got you 25th in a field of no more than 400. 3 years later the race was gone - gone broke. Even the free beer didn't help. The perception was - oh, that's the race for the fast people.
I've struggled with this for some time. I recognize that the sport I came into has been, to some degree, taken over by the Penguins and Gallo-walkers of the world. I still maintain shock when I find someone is running a marathon in more than 5 hours - as the first race they've ever run in their entire life - and usually the last as it's off the bucket list. I admit, I cannot come to grips with this at times.
But quality should never fade. Standards should always be set high. The simple basics (1 portajohn for every 75 runners, a correctly measured course, a place to stretch beforehand and commune with a piece of fruit afterward) should not be compromised in the interest of profit. Sadly, for the subject races, it seems like it may have been.
The real problem is that the directors have figured out there are more people likely to attend an EVENT than there are serious runners to run a race. Case in point - Hot Chocolate Chicago this year had over 35,000 runners. A high quality 4 mile the next day (shirt, gloves, accurate course, free photos on the website for you, indoor stretching/award area, under $20 - and course is FAST with 18:32 course record) had less than 400 finishers. And sadly, the EVENTS are winning.
One last point - if you come on here to complain about your local race - what have you done to improve it? How many times this year have you volunteered at a race? Have you offered your services to a race director? Have you ever gone up to a volunteer, who usually has something to do besides help you on a Saturday am, and just said thank you? Have you ever thanked the race director after the race? Have you ever gone up to a sponsor's store the week after the race to buy something and told the manager "thanks for sponsoring the 5K this weekend"? If you haven't, you're really no better than the Gallo-walkers you complain about.
Until you've really worked a race - getting there 3-8 hours in advance, busting your hump moving barricades, meeting with the cops, the vendors, the sponsors, the volunteers, the elites, the volunteers - and then being there for another 2-3 hours afterwards to make sure everything is cleared up - well, you really haven't seen how things can go badly, and how many things have to go right for you to have your good race.
So, for that, I thank LRC for at least starting a thread on this - and I hope that this discussion continues to improve our fine sport.
Mackwamba