I agree. Large races start screaming at everyone 15 minutes ahead of time. Watch any marathon or large race on TV and you will see the elites lined up 15 minutes in advance. I didn't see the prize money listed here. How much was it? I guess they could double up if they wanted to eliminate controversy.
The CEO Race Director is a self-promoting exec, clueless about these things. All of his logic and reasoning in the front page article reeks of someone who has never ran a race in his life yet he brags about his 2:56 at New York every chance he gets. Unreal execution. I'm sure race will suffer, as will his/company reputation. Not good at all.
This is the truth. His business experience as an "entrepreneur" is equivalent to being regional GM for a handful of Dominos. He's very much outmatched. He's messed up Boulderthon plenty recently.
Chaston told Canadian Running that the early start completely threw him off. “I was tying my shoes about 300 metres from the start when I heard the announcer say, ’30 seconds to go until the half-marathon.’ I checked my watch in disbelief and found myself jumping 40-inch barricades to make my way there.”
The 25-year-old University of Portland student estimates he passed more than 1,000 people in the first mile. “I was constantly weaving between runners,” Chaston said. “It was annoying, and a little bit dangerous, as well.”
I wonder if that's a world record for most runners passed in a mile.
Definitely not. When I ran London 2022 they put the women's good for age/ world champs in the 45-49 bracket ahead of me/the A corral.
I absolutely passed more than 1,000 in the first mile on that day. Coincidently, that was my slowest mile of the whole race.
It's also similar to say NYC where you pass hundreds (or thousands) of cops, celebrities, and wannabes who are given priority access ahead of the first wave.
Point being - it happens more than you think in the big races.
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