Does anyone else think the start time at Boston is miserable..??..I mean hanging out in the cold for hours..riding a damn bus at 6am just to sit in cold is miserable..why do they do that..??
Does anyone else think the start time at Boston is miserable..??..I mean hanging out in the cold for hours..riding a damn bus at 6am just to sit in cold is miserable..why do they do that..??
The Boston Marathon is the only annual marathon that starts at a DECENT hour of the day, IMO. The NYC Marathion comes close (10:47 AM).
The noon start at Boston is by longstanding tradition. They used to have to go by the trtain schedule ansd it just stuck.
In modern times, the time of day, plus the state holiday, also guarantees that the general public will be out to see it, with their barbecues, etc etc, making it the huge general-public event that it is. Please refer to the thread about that snowboarding event that was a party -- well, the Boston marathon beat them to it -- nothing like passing all the lawn parties along the route, the drunk college kids at Boston College, and the crowd spilling out of fensway afetr the Red Sox game (which is held in the morning so baseball fans can see the Sox-Marathon doubleheader) -- and then there's Wellesley...
In a sport desperate for crossover appeal, where the constant refrain is "they gotta market the sport better," it's disheartening to see this "layup" in the game of popular appeal disallowed.
But if you want a reason for a noon start that's more specific to your stated needs, consider that if it started at say, 7:30 AM, as does the LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon, due to the separation between start and finish you'd be on a bus to Hopkinton at 3 AM.
Alternately, maybe you can write the BAA and ask them to change to course to 20 laps of the Boston Common.
Sometimes getting to the starting line is pretty difficult.
" you'd be on a bus to Hopkinton at 3 AM." would be the scenario if Boston were to start earlier. I've run Boston twice and was very happy about the starting time. Also, had some pretty good weather both times.
It doesnt take 4 hours to get to start....and last year the weather was miserable..the sponser who was handing out gloves was the most popular person there..it did warm up ..later..and during the run...all the reasons you gave sound more like excuses..and I know if I dont like it..I dont have to run
Oh, but it does! On my bus, we got about to the tolls and the bus broke down. After trying to back up on the highway and a MA Transit Cop Screaming, "NO FUCKING WAY". We stopped and hung out for awhile and waited for a new bus, all as other buses jeered as they went by. Finally we unloaded and reloaded out in traffic and we were on our way. Then during the interminable (?) backup trying to get off highway, one guy begs his way off the bus to pee (and does, about ten feet from the bus, more jeering), about half the bus asks (and are denied) to do the same. In hindsight, it was high comedy. The guy sitting next to me (one David Volk)trying deperately not to shit himself, did not find it amusing.
It doesn't take 4 hrs for "you" to get to the start. But multiply "you" by 10,000....you're relocating a small town, trying to squeeze them into a town that's smaller still.
Given infrasttruccuture constraints (only so many buses can be in one place at one time, and only so many buses are available, and only so many port-o-sans that thousands want to use) there has to be a LOT of time allowed.
Taking a counter-assumption, what if the race started at 9 AM and the pre-race schedule stayed the same? If one or two buses broke down on that little road from the Mass Pike to Hopkinton HS? Maybe a thousand people miss the start b/c traffic backs all the way up. If I'm the RD, I'd rather have an 10,000 people waiting an extra hour than 2000 not making it to the start in time.
Believe me, NO ONE connected with the race likes all that extra sitting-around time except the guys selling coffee at the start, but it sure beats the alternatives when it comes to the aggregate welfare of the entire field. They've been doing it with big fields for decades so they've had a pretty decent chance to work out logistics optimization.
Glad the gloves sponsor got theu money's worth of ex[posure.
Joe ..its not like they are still bringing people in at 10am...I realize its not just me..I have run other marathons that are bused..now what could be the reason..is tv....and buisness interest..which I understand to a degree...of course I am sure the pros dont have to sit in fricking cold..pissing behind schools..cars or wherever else we can find because the lines are soo fricking long...the whole thing could be better planned....I ,for one am not afraid to say something about our beloved Boston..now I dont think the whole thing is bad..I love the expo..I love the people the most..who busted their ass to qualify..acheived the goal....spend lots of money in Boston..but have to sit in the damn cold..pissing behind cars and trees..for hours..notice the s at the end of hours..
OK, Old Man, stop griping and make some suggestions. While you're at it retain the traditional aspects that define the race. Include the lawn parties and spectators that maintain the pageantry. Wah, wah, wah. If you don't like it then don't come. Or suggest an idea that is good for the populace and not just you.
find someone to drive you from wherever you 're staying to i-495 northbound, at exit that is blocked off for Hopkinton, have driver pull over on shoulder, then you can get out and walk about 1.5 miles to start, as long as you're dropped off by 10:30 you'll be fine
The suggestion is obvious..start earlier...
Obvious to you but not the crowds. Regular people don't wake up early on holidays to watch races. Regular people sleep late. The Boston Marathon takes over the city because everyone gets involved.