Beyond the Progressive

[froggermauger]

This is an outgrowth from my involvement with trying to restructure the venue of the "Progressive" in the advent of the loss of the Park Forest Scenic 10-mile race. With that said, we continue to muddle with various options to continue the Progressive race tradition and will continue some form of Progressive in 2009. But, for the future perhaps the time has come for our club to really consider making a mark on the S-suburban/Chicagoland running community and start considering holding its own marathon event.

My recent experience with Baton Rouge, which is 2-laps of a 1/2 marathon course, suggests it is feasable to create a full marathon event. Before I go any further, please note that I have already sent an email to Running for Kicks to see if they have considered and are amenable to adding the 2-lap option to their standard 13.1 mile Palos 1/2 marathon race held in May.

The lap concept is not as detractive as some individuals may seem to perceive. In fact, based on my running experience at Chicago Lakefront Ultra and Baton Rouge, there are actually numerous advantages to a mulitple loop race, both for runner and race coordinators. In terms of runners, it gives you options to stash and access gear at bag drops with very little loss in time, that allows you to run with less stuff to carry. Logisticially in terms of race coordination, fewer aid stations and volunteers are required. The trick to over-coming the "bordom" factor having to run the same turf again, is in the course setting itself. If the terrain and its surroundings are interesting, no problem with running a 2nd lap - you get the opportunity to see things you missed the first time! Case in point - running along Chicago Lakefront 50k course I am never bored with the lakeside environs and its lakefront "sound-scape" that allows me to endlessly plod the same turf. The same priniciple(s) would be applicable to any lap-style race our club develop.

Obviously, Mel's 13.1 Palos 1/2 is the most ideal candidate to create full marathon event in the S-suburbs. The running event in Baton Rouge worked very well with both 1/2 marathoners running the single course, and marathoners running the course twice. This same concept could easily be extended to the Palos 1/2. Although it would be difficult of our club to find its own 13.1 mile course and staff it, we could consider lessor course distances by adding more laps.

For example, a 6.55 mile course only requires 4-laps. Five laps of a 5.24 mile course also works. And, even 8 laps of a 3.275 mile course could be considered.

The only drawback is that the more the laps, the more potential for angst and conflcts as faster runners encounter slower runners on the additional laps. Limiting or capping the number of registrants based on the physical constraints of the site (e.g. trail, street or running lane width) could help minimize this issue. Also, keeping track of runners could be difficult, so chip-timing would probably be required.

Personally, I think our club might fare quite well developing a 4-lap, 6.55 mile marathon course/event. If we want to make this club unique, then, holding a race of marathon distance in the S-suburbs just might do it!

Any other ideas out there?

[froggermauger]

Here's a little addendum to my initial post. I really believe that if this club wants to be unique, then it needs to move ahead to the 1/2 and full marathon race distance. Case in point; Running Chicken and Track Club is a pretty small group of runners that put on a heck of a full marathon and half marathon race event. OK, it was fraught with last-minute issues from my perspective, but it worked. And further more, they are a race posted on Marathonguide.com, and we are a club that is not.  We have put a lot of effort into the progressive race and it was a quite unique event, but still, not something that individuals would register and travel across country to. On the contrary, the little chicken running club did indeed have runners traveling cross-country to run it, and there were only 174 marathoners! You want to be unique and you want to bring in runners from elsewhere, then we have to move beyond progressive to full marathon. A two-lap 13.1 mile or 4-lap 6.55 mile just might do it!