Hey Lloyd,

If I were going this year, I'd most likely be in the 2nd Corral (2,000+) under the "old" format.

It makes me wonder how they are going to section off the first 10,000. Say someone who has run in the 2:30s-2:40s to someone who has run in the 3:15s-3:20s. My observation is that they will still use the seeding by corral from 1,000 and up, 2,000 and up and so on for the first 10,000 runners.

If so, then it makes sense to spread out the field so that it doesn't bunch up like it usually does in the early miles on the very narrow streets.

I wouldn't want to, I have an image of everyone off the second wave start charging like a high school cross country race.

Unfortunately my time puts me on the bubble...could be first group, could be second...won't know till they tell me.

quote:<HR>Originally posted by ltrun:
My guess is it wont be as comfy as miles 17-20 at the Flying Pig!<HR>

That's for sure LT! We were all alone man

A friend who is likely going to be in the second wave sees ups and downs to this: Upside: faster start; downside: if it's going to be hot as it's been the last couple of years, the extra half hour allows time for the temp to go up more.

I suppose it makes sense though. This race has grown a lot and the road leading out of Hopkinton is pretty narrow. I ran this marathon in the "cast of thousands" year, 1996, and the first five or so miles felt like Penn Station at rush hour. After that, things were still pretty crowded but it wasn't a series of "excuse me...pardon me...coming through" etc. Should say that despite this crowding, I wouldn't have missed the race for anything! But I think the change will help.

Still, it won't exactly feel empty. The Philly Distance Run has about 12,000 ppl. It had corrals this past year, and I was in the 7th or 8th one (forget which). This got me to the start reasonably well, although still felt pretty crowded. And that was a wide road.

http://This message has been edited by lioness1 (edited Jan-19-2006).

What about a 3:10 BQ? 3:15 BQ?

Anyone have any ideas? I am thinking a 3:10 would put a person in about the 5000's? 3:15 6000's? What do you guys think?

The year I ran a 3:14 qualifier, my # was 6707, and the year I ran 3:04, my # was 3183- I really don't like this triple start business- not too fond of this idea at all- takes the tradition out of it- I think it's kind of a bummer if you ask me.

The more I think about this triple start business, the more I dislike this idea. If you ask me, I really think this takes the wind out of the sails for all the people that have to start beyond a 10,000 #. Although this probably won't affect me personally either, I am a little ****** that BAA would make the 2nd group of 10,000 wait around and start later- what the heck is up with this? I really don't think this is fair and it takes away something unique and special about this race. I'm really disappointed in this decision to say the very least.

You have to realize that these changes were made primarily because of many many complaints from the people that the race affects who are NOT running, not just to make the race better (or worse, depending on your perpective) for the runners. The additional numbers have had a large negative impact on the town of Hopkinton and unlike Boston which benefits from added numbers of tourists, the runners don't bring a whole lot of extra commerce to Hopkinton. How much money did any of you spend in Hopkinton itself? I'm betting none would be the typical answer. Instead the runners leave stuff on the front lawns of the residents and the residents are (to make a small pun) pi$$ed and demanding changes.

The same goes for the underpass. It's a very short underpass, but allows the people of Boston access to the major artery that crosses the city and allows people to get over the Charles River and into Canbridge. I've run that underpass many times in other races and it's no big deal at all. No one complains about the overpass over the Mass Pike at mile 25, and this new course change is hardly any more change in elevation than that little "hill" and hardly worth mentioning.

Some people have suggested two separate starts several hours apart, but for the popele in town, the thousands of commuters who use those roads in the early morning and the vounteers who wouln't exactly relish an extra 4 hours added to their volunteer time, that would likely just add more problems, not alleviate them.

For the older runners with slow qualifiying times, the start change will mean a lot less time standing around on the street waiting for the gun to go off, and a shorter race since they won't have that extra half mile to run in the back of the pack before they even get to the start line. One of my friends last year crossed the start line at 12:25. That's well over 25 minutes on the street AFTER the gun went off and time before that just standing on the street after everyone had gone to the start line. If the estimate of just 10-12 minutes for the first 10,000 is right from last year, this year people like my friend should expect to stay nice and comfy in the village for an extra 15 minutes or so instead of standing in line, and have to wait only 10 minutes after the gun goes off to cross the start line at 12:40 instead of last years 25 minute wait and crossing the line at 12:25. That's really only an extra 15 minutes to get across the line. So, I don't see it's such a big deal.