Marathon Starts: What's the Norm?

You should know by now that walkers start at the front and that all charities have precedence over serious runners.

It's been that way for a long time and you will even get some Let'srun posters to support the fact.

Boston has been the only Marathon I have run where they got it right.

sedrftgy wrote:

You should know by now that walkers start at the front and that all charities have precedence over serious runners.

It's been that way for a long time and you will even get some Let'srun posters to support the fact.

Boston has been the only Marathon I have run where they got it right.

I know some races can be like that, but this isn't that. They have a system that is supposed to get it right, but they are letting many abuse it through their dishonesty, plus the fact that they apparently aren't verifying stated previous finishing times. I finished that marathon in 3:08:20 two years ago, which placed me 180th, and they give me a number card of 763??? That's bad enough to begin with, and then they try to make me stand at the back of the B block which goes up to 1600???

So, I'm curious how other races work, especially if they expect runners to stand around for about an hour before their race.

sedrftgy wrote:

Boston has been the only Marathon I have run where they got it right.

Which I'd like to know more about. How is it that they do it right?

Unfortunately the situation you describe is fairly common. Part is due to lack of verification of predicted finish times, I like to think people are simply unrealistic, as opposed to intentionally fraudulent, in giving low times but I'm sure there are plenty who lie to get a good spot. Many races have slower corral standards for women and maters runners which may place slower runners ahead of you. I don't really mind this as long as the times are set appropriately. I think a major problem is they way corrals are organized, a specific example I've encountered is the difference between Peachtree and the Atlanta half marathon.

At Peachtree there are many smaller groups at the front with posted qualifying time requirements, as about the 100th finisher I was able to start at approximately this position, with people of equal ability. I was in the third group and in a race of 55,000 crossed the start line less than 5 seconds after the gun.

In 2008 the Atlanta half marathon limited the field to 10,000 and used a corral system for the first time. They used 5 groups of 2,000 which I thought was a poor choice. The difference in pace between 4,001 and 6,000 may not be big, but it's huge between 1 and 2,000. I was placed in the first group and because I didn't line up 30 min. in advance I was barely had room to get into my corral, much less to a spot corresponding to my finish place (about 25th each of the years I did this race). The result was much worse for me than the years with no seeding where I would just make myself a spot near the front couple rows shortly before the start. A better plan in my oppinion would have had increasing corral sizes based on roughly equal time differences such as 1:10 to 1:20 runners are A, 1:20 to 1:30 are B, rather than by equal number of runners.

Long story short many races don't want to take the time to verify predicted finish times or don't think things through logistically. I always enjoy races like Peachtree and Boilermaker that do a better job of this.

Bay-to-Breakers in SF (50K+ participants) is another race that takes care of the faster runners. The race itself is a zoo of humanity in which a small fraction of the participants actually race or even run. But you can apply to be a 'seeded' or 'sub-seeded' runner (proof required of hitting certain standards) and start right up front just behind the elites. You get to warmup in front of the starting line right up to the start. I am nothing special and had no problem getting a seeded entry and crossed the start right after the gun. They also have on-your-honor corrals from A to E which would be a joke for anyone trying to run a decent time and along the lines of what the OP reported in his marathon.

I understand the blocks, and inherent flaws, but to limit where you can go in the block based on arrival time seems like BS.

.Brent wrote:

Which I'd like to know more about. How is it that they do it right?

The corrals at Boston hold up to 1000 people. If you don't have the right number you don't get in to the corral. You enter the corral and can, if you want, work your way up near the front of the corral. If you get there with 10 minutes to go, it will be hard to work your way up but if you get there with 20, not hard at all.

Average_Joe wrote:

The corrals at Boston hold up to 1000 people. If you don't have the right number you don't get in to the corral. You enter the corral and can, if you want, work your way up near the front of the corral. If you get there with 10 minutes to go, it will be hard to work your way up but if you get there with 20, not hard at all.

Just avoid the people defecating in the corrals, which always seems to happen at Boston.

I've run it 7 times and every single time I have witnessed poop coming out of someone's butt. Utterly disgusting.

Granted, even with a qualifying time of 2:24, I cannot get into Boston b/c the charities clog it up on the first day of registration. Oh well.

Thanks everyone. I agree especially with this, that making you stay at the back of your block, or corral, because you didn't want to stand around for nearly an hour before your race, is BS. If the organizers give me a number which is already unrealistic based on finishing times in that very same race, at least let me, and others, line up according to that number whether I get there 50 minutes prior or 10.The Okinawa Marathon has a system similar, but there is also a section for "serious" runners who do track and field events. You can apply as a track and field athlete and get "official" finishing times that go in the books, as it were. If you apply to that you will be in the top 500 at the front, which is really nice. The winning prize is better if you are not in this group, however, though I can't imagine it's much of a prize either way.Oh! And as many are of course aware, it isn't just the time from the gun to actually getting across the start line. It only took me 17 seconds which I don't care too much about since I'm only able to challenge sub 3. But it's after that and for the first kilometer or two that is the killer time wise, trying to wade through all that traffic. Aaarrgh!

biggus dickus wrote:

I understand the blocks, and inherent flaws, but to limit where you can go in the block based on arrival time seems like BS.