Interesting article about the NYC marathon course, from the Wall Street Journal…
Is Bigger and Faster Better for Marathon?
NYC Race Officials Are Committed to the Current Course, but Others Think It May be Time to Consider a Few Changes
By SOPHIA HOLLANDER
A wave of runners enters Brooklyn near the second mile of Sunday's New York City Marathon.
As the winners of Sunday's ING New York City Marathon burst across the finish line, their winning times made one fact abundantly clear: In a city known for its swift pace, its marathon route is notoriously slow.
Though the men's winner, Gebre Gebremariam posted the sixth-fastest time in course history at two hours, eight minutes and 14 seconds, his victory was still almost two minutes slower than Sammy Wanjiru's winning time at this year's Bank of America Chicago Marathon: 2:06:24. The difference on the women's side was even more pronounced: Edna Kiplagat's victory in 2:28:20 was more than eight minutes behind Liliya Shobukhova's 2:20:25 win.
The challenging topography and slower times run on New York's course has prompted some of the world's greatest runners to bypass the city in favor of other faster races, and has led others to call for changes to the course itself.
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