Mary Wittenberg Steps Down as President of New York Road Runners to Head Virgin Sport

Actually I know a lot of people who panic towards the end of the year about getting their 9+1.

I've even known guys run the 60k just for that reason.

The article you linked to says that 19 million people finished running events but the article I linked to said that 20 million people participated in yoga yet you want to conclude that running "dwarfs other fitness activities in size"? Moreover $27 BILLION was spent on yoga. If you want to talk about dwarfing, then that dwarfs what is spent on running.

I never said that CrossFit has more participants than running. I said that it was booming. The 209K number is just the people who did a 5-week competition to qualify for the world championships. The number of people who go to CrossFit gyms but who didn't do the competition is exponentially higher. CrossFit also has $2 million in prize money (compare that to the enormous $1 million the NYCM offers) and is shown all the time on ESPN (when was the last time you flipped on ESPN and saw a marathon?) It's never going to approach the numbers of running because running is basically free but it is a fitness sport that has grown tremendously in a very short amount of time and already is on television more than running and offers prize money greater than the biggest and most expensive marathon in the world. That's damn impressive if you ask me.

The bottom line is that there is A LOT more competition for fitness dollars than there ever used to be so the segment of the population that wants to work out has more options than ever.

I think if you are a seriously competitive runner and run for one of the local elite clubs, you may find its possible to get in to sold-out races at the last minute. I've known it happen but I don't know whether it's the norm.

You are only comparing the competition today to the competition nadir of the 90s and early 2000s that Steinfeld nicely ran into the ground. The competition in the 80s was MUCH stronger than anything you see today. 100th place in the NYCM was 2:23 with Pat Peterson leading the local crew with a 2:12 and Sal Vega not that far behind in 2:14. Who are the current locals running that fast today? This isn't a NYC phenomenon but a national one.

Let me guess. You are a white male? Tigist Tufa just won the London Marathon, Buzunesh Deba is a perennial big marathon contender and Esther Erb is the USA champion. The West Side men's team has plenty of people in the Pat Peterson and Sal Vega range. The Club Championship is better indicator of local competitiveness as the Marathon has become international and today's local runners seek OTQ's elsewhere. 100th place at the 1987 Club Champs was 29:17 while 100th place in 2014 was 28:29.

NYCRUNS Better wrote:

The Joker wrote:

This is incorrect. The local competition has never been stronger and is due in part to many programs championed by Mary Wittenberg.

You are only comparing the competition today to the competition nadir of the 90s and early 2000s that Steinfeld nicely ran into the ground. The competition in the 80s was MUCH stronger than anything you see today. 100th place in the NYCM was 2:23 with Pat Peterson leading the local crew with a 2:12 and Sal Vega not that far behind in 2:14. Who are the current locals running that fast today? This isn't a NYC phenomenon but a national one.

Neither Tufa nor Deba lives in NYC and or flies in for weekly races so I am not sure what your point is. They USED to live in NYC but that was years ago and neither has anything to do with the local running scene. Kara Goucher used to live here too. Does she count?

The WSX team does not have plenty of local guys popping off 2:12 NYCMs. They may have been that fast when they were younger but not anymore. Any current 2:12 WSX guy either lives elsewhere or currently is banned. The top 5 local results from last year's NYCM were:

1 Birhanu Dare Kemal 2:18:24

2 Negash Abebe Duki 2:20:15

3 Harbert Okuti 2:22:34

4 Teklu Tefera Deneke 2:25:07

5 James Kelly 2:25:56

That isn't even in the same zip code as the 1983 results. Where are all of the invisible 2:12 local guys who you mistakenly think skip NYC for other faster races? I don't mean to denigrate the local scene. It really is impressive and deep (the women are even faster at the pointy end but not as deep) but it still isn't approaching the height of the early 80s.

the early 80s were a blip -you are wrong to make that short period the benchmark. Yes, it is was a phenomenally strong time. But it lasted around 5 years - the other 40 years post running boom were not nearly as strong.

Say what you want about Mary's priorities, but yesterday's Brooklyn Half was the perfect send-off party for her. An unbelievably well organized race with 26,500 finishers with good quality competition - 100th place was 1:18:10 this year (for comparison in 2005 it was 1:24:37). For 65 bucks you really got a quality race even for the "sub-elite" hobby joggers. You can't deny this is a testament to her hard work over the past decade to improve both quality and quantity of competition in Nyrr races.

It will be very interesting to see how Rock and Roll Brooklyn Half this October compares to NYRR"s half. RNR uses almost exactly same course (except for lower half of Ocean Pkwy) and charges 60 bucks. Their ads were all over the radio throughout this weekend even as Brooklyn Half was going on. Finally some big time competition, not to mention NYCRUNS Brooklyn Marathon the month after that

I finally found time to read this thread a few points.

I agree. I wish the NYRR had become a national brand and ran all of distance running in the US. But I can understand why local runners wouldn't like it.

I see your points but welcome to the world in the year 2015. Baseball palyers do the same thing that the guys did in the 1960s but get paid a thousand times more.

Everything costs more.

She was way ahead of the game as compared to say Boston. It's expensive to put on a top marathon. I'm very glad she professionalized NY. I'm fearful that someone could easily turn the NYRR into nothing but a fun run promoter.

I don't thin $85 is too much for a half marathon in NYC. How much does it cost to go to a Yankee game?

Like you, I'm amazed how Uber and Airbnb - services I both use - are just allowed to ignore laws, become popular and then get laws changed, but I do find it a little bit ironic that you are complaining abuot airbnb. Since your #1 issue seems to be cost, one would think you'd like them. They keep the costs of lodging down. They are the equivalent of a $20 road race. Instead of paying $150 for a hotel, you sleep on someone's couch for $50.

rojo wrote:

She was way ahead of the game as compared to say Boston. It's expensive to put on a top marathon. I'm very glad she professionalized NY.

As far as I understand, John Hancock puts together the elite field in Boston. I always found that weird and the NYRR way of doing things much more logical.

I don't thin $85 is too much for a half marathon in NYC. How much does it cost to go to a Yankee game?

The issue is that 5 years back the Brooklyn Marathon was $20 or so. Now it's more than twice as expensive. NYC Half has increased even more. I am aware that looking at the absolute numbers, NYRR races are still priced competitively.

The thrust here is that the business plan of the club changed over time not by a mandate of membership but by the design of the management/Board of Directors.

I doubt that bell can be unrung but with new leadership 'club members' might be able to convince leadership to spin off the club part as running club supported by the economic engine of heath and fitness promotion entity.

Some help in refining this idea is needed-thanks