Marathoning's Minors

From Running Times

Marathoning's Minors

Not the majors, but in the same league

By Jim Gerweck
As featured in the March 2010 issue of Running Times Magazine

Perhaps it was mere coincidence, but one couldn't help but discern the underlying symbolism of the New York Yankees winning the World Series just three days after the ING New York City Marathon had effectively closed the books on another season of major league marathoning. And for an observer of baseball and running, the similarity was almost too obvious to ignore: Big market, big money teams, or races, have essentially spent their way to the top of their respective games.

Just as the Bronx Bombers locked up their world championship by outspending the rest of the major league teams, it seems the Big Five of the World Marathon Majors--Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago and New York--have relegated other races to an existence as the marathon equivalent of the Minnesota Twins or Milwaukee Brewers, destined to mostly futile attempts to compete with the big boys, or resignation to being second-or even third-fiddle races in this new world order of international marathons. Ray Flynn, agent for top American marathoners Ryan Hall and Deena Kastor. "Unfortunately, there are only so many spots in these races." Flynn thinks that, in some ways, the top U.S. runners may be in a better position in this regard. "The African runners are in some respects their own worst enemies," he says. "It's always going to be more difficult for them to establish themselves among their countrymen--there's no shortage of great Kenyan marathoners."

"Compared to the Majors, we have a limited budget," says Hermens. "So we have to be careful and creative. We have our own training camps in Africa, and we are close to the managers, so we know who the up-and-coming runners are." And just like a ballplayer who excels with a small-market team eventually cashes in as a free agent with the Yankees or Phillies, runners who win other races in fast times soon begin receiving invitations from the elite coordinators of WMM races. Consider someone like Felix Limo, who debuted at Amsterdam with a 2:06:42 win in 2003, and went on to win Berlin (2004), Chicago (2005), and London (2006).MAJORS AND THE MASSES

That's all well and good for a 2:06 marathoner, but what does it mean to runners finishing an hour or two behind the winners?

When the Majors were established, a goal that didn't receive much publicity was raising the operational level of the races and establishing a set of "best practices" other events could follow. In that regard, the Majors have been a success, according to Bank of America Chicago Marathon director Carey Pinkowski. "Our medical, marketing, operations people all talk to each other," he says. But besides trading tips, they have passed them on to other national and regional events at race director conferences held in conjunction with Majors events. "We're not keeping any secrets," says Pinkowski. "If we get better, that's good, and if regional races get better, that's good too."



But those who aren't part of the WMM "elite" don't feel like second-class events, and exhibit none of the negative outlook expressed, justifiably, by fans of teams like the Pittsburgh Pirates.


"There's room for everybody," says Jos Hermens, a European-based agent for many top African runners and a consultant to several top marathons such as Rotterdam and Amsterdam. "There are so many good runners now that it's impossible for the Majors to take everyone, even if they wanted to," he continues. "London, for instance, goes after the big names, but they don't want to have 30 elites, even if they could afford it--it would create an overload and the race probably wouldn't be as exciting." With such self-imposed limits and only two or three Majors each half-year season, that leaves plenty of talent to go around to the other "semi-majors."

"What's happened since the introduction of the Majors is the other marathons just below them have been liberated to concentrate on other aspects besides assembling a full, top-notch field, and creating head-to-head competition," says Dave Monti, editor and publisher of Race Results Weekly and elite athlete coordinator for the New York City Marathon. "Look at the times from Frankfurt and Rotterdam [in 2009, won in 2:06:14 and 2:04:27, respectively]. They can assemble a group of pacemakers who can focus solely on running fast, and they succeeded.


"Each race is trying to pick something to set it apart. For instance Vienna brought in only marathon debutants, and wound up with a 2:08:21 winning time. There's no question that the races below the Majors have had to raise their game, and as a result they've become bigger and better."




Still, just as the top baseball free agents all eventually sign with the big money teams, since it gives them the best chance to play in the World Series, many top marathoners will run only in a WMM event--assuming they can get in. "The Majors are where the best runners want to be," says

MINOR ISSUES

Perhaps the only relative failure of the Majors has been the inability to catch the interest of the running public. While each individual race has reached a higher profile due to the alliance, only a tiny fraction of running fans seem to know, care or perhaps understand the WMM series competition, in spite of the half-million dollar bonus checks awarded the past three years the day after New York. In spite of NYCM director Mary Wittenberg's assertion that the WMM is "almost a framework of a more typical sport, the equivalent of car racing," the somewhat convoluted nature of the series scoring has proved mildly off-putting. Perhaps the biggest anomaly is that, although each series is a two-year cycle, the scoring doesn't completely reset. Imagine the baseball season starting with the teams all sporting their records from last year's All-Star break and you can understand the public's confusion. "A one-year series might be better," Wittenberg admits.

While running fans may not understand the Majors' convoluted scoring system, their interest still piques whenever fast times are thrown down, for better or worse. Even if the majors doesn't take off, a redrawn playing field in term of time may be the salient story of the second decade of 21st-century marathoning.

"Athletes have lost respect for times," says Hermens. "One guy runs 2:04, and the guys who train with him say, 'I train with him, I can run that, too.' It's a pyramid effect. You get a bunch of guys running 2:05, 2:06 and then a couple run 2:04. With no major championships this year, I think you'll see a lot of runners just trying to run fast. And once you get a lot running 2:04, 2:05, you're going to see two or three run 2:03."

Whether it's baseball or marathons, driven by big bucks, you're going to see more and more guys swinging for the fences.THE LEAGUE OF MARATHONS: 2009 STATS

Virginia Brophy Achman, executive director of the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon, one of the top "second-level" races, agrees. "It's so important that runners have a good experience and want to continue in the sport," she says. "All of us--the Majors, the regional races, even the 'mom and pop' events--play a part. The challenge is to provide the same level of quality for these new runners."

Races like Twin Cities, which has served as a U.S. championship on numerous occasions, also nurture up-and-coming American elites who might not be able to gain entry to a Major or might be overwhelmed by the international fields there. In 2009, Jason Hartmann won Twin Cities in a PR 2:12:09, presaging the similar breakthrough Meb Keflezighi would fashion the following month in New York.

"I think an athlete has to look at where they are in their career," says Flynn. "If you're a young, up-and-coming athlete, you might be better to go win a second-tier marathon than finishing 12th in a major race."

But for the established international stars, the biggest accolades (and commensurately larger paychecks) are to be found in the biggest races, and these days, that means one of the Majors. The "carryover" scoring system, in which performances from the second year of a concluding series become the first year of the next cycle, also tends to lock athletes into running one of the Big Five, especially if they've established a commanding lead, and why not? Irina Mikitenko seems likely to parlay strong London/Berlin perfectas into half-million dollar WMM bonuses for the foreseeable future. Her fellow '08-'09 Majors champ, Sammy Wanjiru, even figured out a way to eat his cake and have it too; although the only gold his Beijing Olympic win produced was his medal, it gave him enough WMM points that victories in London and Chicago the following year netted him an oversized $500,000 check and a leg up on next year's series.

The lone exception to this process seems to be that most exceptional of runners, Haile Gebrselassie, who is quite content to keep making world record attempts (and collecting the attendant appearance fees) at Berlin and Dubai; whether that citystate's recent financial troubles mean its big money marathon time trial will go similarly bankrupt and change his M.O. remains to be seen.

Race Name       Finishers       Total Purse     Winning Time (M/F)      Rank (M/F)     
Boston  22,849  $746,000        2:08:42/2:32:16 3/2    
Virgin London   36,156  $768,500        2:05:10/2:22:11 1/3    
real,-Berlin    34,994  $484,820        2:06:08/2:24:47 7/10   
Bank of America Chicago 33,475  $647,500        2:05:41/2:25:46 4/5    
ING New York    43,475  $833,500        2:09:15/2:28:52 6/13   
International Second-Tier      
 Tokyo  29,109  $383,120        2:10:27/2:25:38         16/11  
Japan has always been known for small, "spectator" marathons with limited elite fields. This race marks its entry into large mass-participation events.
 Fortis Rotterdam       6,443   Not Available   2:04:27/2:26:30         5/44   
The world record course for several years, Rotterdam continues to make its mark by setting leading times (mainly for men), often with relatively unknown runners on their way up.      
Paris   30,334  $303,891        2:05:47/2:24:42 11/8   
Always a popular "destination" race, Paris has recently attracted fast and big fields (the 2010 edition reached its 40,000 limit in November). 
Citta di Roma   11,099  $273,153        2:07:17/2:27:08 20/17  
Another big-city "tourist" event that has increased its competitive level in recent years to become the preeminent marathon in Italy.  
Amsterdam       6,899   Not Available   2:06:18/2:27:43 8/19   
Going up against three of the Majors in the fall season, the average finishing time of the top 10 in this race is 2:06:35, sixth best in the world.    
Commerzbank Frankfurt   9,497   $287,125        2:06:14/2:26:57 10/12  
The 2009 edition produced the 99th and 100th sub-2:07 marathons in history; its indoor light-show finish is one of the most unique in racing.  
Standard Chartered Dubai        888     $1,000,000      2:05:29/2:24:02 9/9    
Racing's largest prize purse, plus record bonuses, attract the likes of Haile Gebrselassie and Berhane Adere, boosting the field into the top 10 most competitive. But lacks any mass appeal.  
Fukuoka 488     Not Available   2:05:18/NA      8/NA   
Once the most competitive marathon in the world, Fukuoka still assembles a world-class invitational field each December. Qualifiying time for entry is 2:45, and 194 runners were pulled from the course last year for failing to reach checkpoints at that pace.      
Osaka Ladies Marathon   346     Not Available   NA /2:23:42     NA/4   
Perennially in the top five most competitive women's races, Osaka is for women what Fukuoka is for men: a small, very fast field that more often than not includes past and future Olympic champions   
TOP NORTH AMERICAN EVENTS      
Chevron Houston 5,396   $153,00 2:07:52/2:24:18 15/24  
Traditionally the kickoff event of the marathon season, the long race is often overshadowed by the accompanying U.S. championship half marathon, but draws fast foreigners who are in shape early.     
Los Angeles     14,128  $330,000        2:08:24/2:25:59 21/15  
Numerous changes in courses, dates, and management have kept this race from achieving a stature commensurate with its host city. The "Challenge of the Sexes," which allows the women's winner to score an overall bonus, is a unique feature. 
Grandma's        5,893   $94,200        2:15:13/2:36:52         46/46  
Long known for producing fast times in spite of its June date, a recent string of hot weather has hurt that reputation, and the competitive field.     
Medtronic Twin Cities    8,428   $179,258       2:12:09/2:31:49 54/26  
Billed as "the most beautiful urban marathon in America," this race has hosted the U.S. championships and the masters championships, drawing top American runners for years.   
Rock 'n' Roll San Diego 13,328  $130,000        2:11:16/2:27:37 39/45  
Squarely targeted at the mid- and back-of-pack participants and charity runners looking for a great race experience, this race attracts a few quick foreigners up front.       
ING Ottawa      3,578   $95,400 2:13:23/2:27:41 17/38  
The capital city bills its race as a "destination weekend" but doesn't neglect building a highly competitive field with both international elites and top Canadians.   
Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront   2,918   $138,000        2:08:32/2:28:31 14/16  
A fast course and solid purse attract elites young and old: Toronto has hosted both Ed Whitlock's 70+ and Sikh Fauja Singh's 90+ record runs.