Posted by ernie beach on October 19, 2004 at 00:04:59:
In Reply to: S.I. 1/2 marathon posted by Gene Galasso on October 18, 2004 at 21:51:50:
I e-mailed the NYRRC to state that the course was not the course presented on the NYRRC website. I also stated that the course may have been certified by the same individual that measured it last year by car. The distance was most likely long again and perhaps the mile markers being misrepresented could dissuade one from perhaps attempting to fugure out how far the course actually was. I can appreciate the participant that ran with the GPS system and captured a recording of 13.35 miles from start to finish. I thought last year the course was about 13.5 miles. I do feel that the course may very well have been a 1/4 mile long. The stated course was supposed to hit Bay Street at Edgewater Hall Plaza. It did not. The runners stayed on Front ST until the Alice Austen House. That alone added mileage. The turnaround as described previously was to turnaround at the Dolphin Statue (Sand Lane). This was not stated this year most like ly to absolve responsibility. Splits that read 6:02, 6:32, 7:15, 5:02, 5:58 are odd as well as the 3 mile marker and the 10 mile marker being in the same place. The course did not start and finish in the same place. The start was up farther than the finish line so how could those 3 miles be accurate? When running these races the new motto is "Expect Nothing", that way we run, we finish and whatever. If I want to know what I can run in a half marathon I'll go to New Jersey. It's not woth getting agitated anymore. It's not going to change. The sudden $6.00 parking fee with a 20 minute wait to get in the parking lot was a nice added touch as well.