Same Start Please wrote:
Geesh, this is going viral.
Easy solution. They start the women's elite with the men.
My preference would be to start the women's elite with the men, then I get to see Kawauchi overtake Kirui! Win Win!
Later, they could focus on the women's race. Having them finish at the same time is chaotic.
Start the women's elite with the men or this stuff is going to happen again.
Why don't think interview Shalane Flaganan and ask her if she'd be ok starting with the men's elite?
Everything you said is wrong.
1. it isn't viral. it's one buzzfeed article and that's it
2. starting the womens elites with the men is bad for the women because they aren't able to be shown on TV as much as there would be a hundred guys around. plus, most if not all WMM's have separate elite women's starts for record purposes. Boston isnt record-eligible but there are still many other reasons to have a separate womens race.
3. it was random chance that they finished at the same time, and never couldve been predicted. the men ran around 5 minutes slower than usual, yet the women ran 15 minutes slower than usual. pre-race you might have predicted a men's winning time of 2:13 and a women's of 2:27, which would mean the women would finish 14 minutes before the first man. no problem.
4. another thing, somewhat unrelated to your post. The women who aren't in the elite field often prefer starting with men, as it offers them protection from the wind. Even with no wind drafting for 26 miles helps a ton. I personally know some masters women who get invited to the elite women's field but decline because they know that their best chance to run fast is to run with wave 1.