There was an article published in the Philadelphia Inquirer on the weekend of the NYC Marathon, questioning whether or not the city of Philadelphia could make more of its marathon.
I wrote a letter to the Philadelphia Inquirer two days later. Although I heard back from the author of the article and my letter was sent to an editor, it was not published. I posted my letter on a Philadelphia running club Web site. But since this thread seems to be questioning some of the same aspects of the race, I figured I would paste the letter in to this thread.
Ted Callinan
Christopher K. Hepp is spot on with his recent article “Could Philadelphia Make More On Its Marathon?” (Nov. 1) This article is both timely and relevant.
Published on the eve of the 2009 ING New York City Marathon, Hepp’s article brings attention to the problems facing a marathon that is good, yet has so much more potential. There are many issues to address:
1. Race director Melanie Johnson is incorrect. The course is not the selling feature of this race; its date on the calendar is what attracts people. Having run a good number of Fall marathons myself, I have heard people express concerns about marathons in October and early November because their training would have to begin in the heat and humidity of late Summer. A person training for the Philadelphia Marathon could literally wait until Labor Day Weekend to begin preparations and have MORE than enough time to be ready for the streets of Philadelphia (appealing to elite and casual runners alike). Moreover, people like the idea of training (or simply keeping in shape) throughout the Fall, laying it on the line the Sunday before Thanksgiving, and then being able to eat a big turkey day meal guilt-free.
2. The reason why the course is NOT the biggest selling feature is because more than half the race cannot really be called a “city” marathon. The big Fall marathons such as New York and Chicago pride themselves in taking runners through various neighborhoods. I have run Philadelphia on more than one occasion, and while I love this city and enjoyed the marathon as a whole, the course leaves much to be desired. To include neighborhoods, the race should make its way through locales such as Chinatown, Northern Liberties, the Italian Market (Are you telling me people wouldn’t LOVE envisioning themselves on an early morning training run from the original Rocky movie?), etc. While the early miles of the race do wind through center city, the miles just past the Philadelphia Zoo are empty (Japanese Gardens e.g.). Furthermore, having the runners make their journey all the way out to Green Lane ONLY to turn around and go back down the same route (Kelly Drive), makes Green Lane too much of a destination inside the race. The river is beautiful, but it is already run in the ING Philadelphia Distance Run and countless other smaller races. If the river should be kept in the race, then BOTH sides of the river should be utilized and runners shouldn’t have to tread over the same ground. Marathons are long enough as it is.
3. The Rothman 8k has always been a quality race, and for now, it should be kept. But the half marathon serves absolutely no purpose. The city already boasts one of the best half marathons in the U.S. Having another one simply because there is already a clock out on the street is not a reason to have one. Not only that, but the half is run AT THE SAME TIME as the full marathon. To be fair, Philadelphia is not the only race to try such a maneuver, but it is definitely NEVER a good thing. Runners from each race have trouble knowing who is racing what event. It confuses runners in BOTH races and doesn’t help them pace themselves properly. And if the runners are confused, one can only imagine what the fans think. The half marathon should be eliminated immediately, and if the marathon were to grow to perhaps the size of the Medtronic Twin Cities (which fits the estimated full capacity that Johnson noted the city could handle), then perhaps the Rothman 8k would be moved to Saturday morning.
4. While it is absolutely commendable that the city of Philadelphia has created this race and helped it grow to decent success, privatization is definitely the future of this race. The fact that the Philadelphia Marathon is the only race of the six mentioned in this letter that is NOT preceded by a title sponsor is a telling indication. Other city marathons have placed an effort into remaining city-owned events, and many of them have met with bankruptcy.
5. A good example for Philadelphia to follow might be the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon. The Bank of America Chicago Marathon and the ING New York City Marathons have already cornered the market as the large Fall marathons in the U.S., and that is unlikely to change. Couple this fact with the estimation that the Philadelphia streets can only manage about 25,000 anyway, and the goal becomes clear: be the best of the mid-size marathons. The 2009 edition of Twin Cities boasted over 14,000 runners on the Sunday of its race weekend. This is in addition to the thousands that race in a 1 mile, 5k, and 10k on Saturday! On 7 October, the Twin Cities Marathon, Inc. became Twin Cities in Motion – an indication of its tremendous growth over 28 years.
The other marathons are moving forward, while the Philadelphia Marathon is still stuck at the starting line. Philadelphia is a fantastic city that has the potential to have a first-rate marathon – just like its regional comrades The Blue Cross Broad Street 10 Miler and ING Philadelphia Distance Run Half Marathon. We just have to mark the course there more clearly.
Sincerely,
Edward Callinan