Chevron Houston Marathon Registration Numbers
In Roberta MacInnis' Running Notebook column today:
As of Tuesday, 3,547 people had registered for the Jan. 13 marathon, compared to 848 at the same time last year, reported Steven Karpas, director of marketing and race development. That's a 310 percent increase.
The half marathon is growing even faster. Last year, 729 people had signed up for the race by this time. This year, 3,357 people have registered — a 346 percent increase.
Registration for the companion 5K, which has a new sponsor in El Paso Corp., is also up 89 percent.
I don't doubt the numbers, but again they are what the organizers tell you they are ... Houston isn't like Chicago or Boston where you can check the list of ALL registrants online.
Karpas attributed this year's numbers to the increased awareness about registering early.
He also credits last year's exciting event for increasing interest in the city's big distance races.
I would agree with the first point, but not because "increased awareness". Rather people didn't want to spend $100 for the full and $70 for the half - where the prices are at now and at the highest point earlier than they've ever been - versus paying $75 and $50 at the same time last year.
The second line I find laughable and pure schlock. Go to any training group in town and ask the members why they're running Houston and I'd be very surprised that you'll hear,"I just have to run Houston this year because Ryan Hall ran 59:43 last year."
Do they really believe that?
"Having Ryan Hall smash the U.S half marathon record here certainly helped get the word out that Houston has a fast course," Karpas said.
If the U.S. Championship wasn't held on the course, how likely would it have been for Ryan Hall to have been here? Not very likely.
Look at the winning times from 2002-2006:
2006 - Nicodemus Malakwen, Kenya, 24, 1:02:07
2005 - Julius Kibet, Kenya, 22, 1:03:17
2004 - Gilbert Koech, Albuquerque, NM, 23, 1:03:08
2003 - Scott Strand, Birmingham, AL, 34, 1:05:13
2002 - Justin Chaston, Houston, TX, 33, 1:08:42
The course was the same at least from 2004 forward. The course itself isn't fast, but it may facilitate faster times than the Leadville Heavy Half Marathon. Just the runners on it.
Plus your faster runners are lining up races - outside of the various U.S. championships - based on what their end goals are, such as the Olympics.
As of Tuesday, 3,547 people had registered for the Jan. 13 marathon, compared to 848 at the same time last year, reported Steven Karpas, director of marketing and race development. That's a 310 percent increase.
The half marathon is growing even faster. Last year, 729 people had signed up for the race by this time. This year, 3,357 people have registered — a 346 percent increase.
Registration for the companion 5K, which has a new sponsor in El Paso Corp., is also up 89 percent.
I don't doubt the numbers, but again they are what the organizers tell you they are ... Houston isn't like Chicago or Boston where you can check the list of ALL registrants online.
Karpas attributed this year's numbers to the increased awareness about registering early.
He also credits last year's exciting event for increasing interest in the city's big distance races.
I would agree with the first point, but not because "increased awareness". Rather people didn't want to spend $100 for the full and $70 for the half - where the prices are at now and at the highest point earlier than they've ever been - versus paying $75 and $50 at the same time last year.
The second line I find laughable and pure schlock. Go to any training group in town and ask the members why they're running Houston and I'd be very surprised that you'll hear,"I just have to run Houston this year because Ryan Hall ran 59:43 last year."
Do they really believe that?
"Having Ryan Hall smash the U.S half marathon record here certainly helped get the word out that Houston has a fast course," Karpas said.
If the U.S. Championship wasn't held on the course, how likely would it have been for Ryan Hall to have been here? Not very likely.
Look at the winning times from 2002-2006:
2006 - Nicodemus Malakwen, Kenya, 24, 1:02:07
2005 - Julius Kibet, Kenya, 22, 1:03:17
2004 - Gilbert Koech, Albuquerque, NM, 23, 1:03:08
2003 - Scott Strand, Birmingham, AL, 34, 1:05:13
2002 - Justin Chaston, Houston, TX, 33, 1:08:42
The course was the same at least from 2004 forward. The course itself isn't fast, but it may facilitate faster times than the Leadville Heavy Half Marathon. Just the runners on it.
Plus your faster runners are lining up races - outside of the various U.S. championships - based on what their end goals are, such as the Olympics.
posted by WalkSports.com | 8:00 AM
12 Comments:
Speaking of pure schlock, aren't you writing an article on marathon training?
Richard
Richard,
Yes, but they weren't my views on training. I requested the opinions of expert, certified coaches.
Let's gets the facts straight and reveal names too.
Jon
Richard,
Part 2. Send me your e-mail and I'll send you the article in the Courier that has already been published.
I've never once positioned in any forum that I was an expert on marathon training.
Your insinuation that I was adds to the schlock.
Jon
Jon, I have never met you, and usually find your personal and Chronicle blog entertaining and kind spiritied. So I gotta ask...what's your problem with the Chevron Houston Marathon people?
There's a 180 in your tone when you write about the local marathon.
Just wondering.
Jon, "laughable and pure schlock"? I realize this is your site and that you're free to publish what you want, but is it really necessary to be so mean spirited?
Jon, I have no problem with you not agreeing with what I say, but please, at least respect my opinion.
Steven Karpas
Chevron Houston Marathon
Director of Marketing & Race Development
As someone who was standing on a newspaper rack with a great bird's eye view of Ryan Hall's finish I'll never forget it. And from experience I know that the half and full are indeed faster than average.
Is the race a little over-priced? Probably, especially for registering 6 months out. But understanding supply and demand I can understand why they did it, and why they're justified in doing it. And I certainly don't have any complaints about what you get for your money.
I too can't understand the animosity to our hometown race.
I stand by my comments that I think the event is great.
I always have and always will.
I enjoy the energy and the atmosphere of it.
I think I have a fair understanding of the market. I talk to people. I read the Road Race Management's Race Directors Forum. Why do I run a lot of different events? So I can watch, learn and listen and talk to people that put on the events. I'm not sitting out here in a vaccuum spewing stuff just to do so, hear myself type, or to make a name for myself.
I could care less and I've always said that and will until I quit doing what I'm doing.
I think I understand the reasoning for the pricing, but it doesn't mean I have to agree with it or the $40 transfer fee - which may be the highest for an event in the country. I'm still researching that as I've been asked to write an article on transfer fees.
The policy, in my mind, isn't runner friendly. There are lots of good, decent, hard-working people who train for a marathon the proper way, support their local running store(s), pay to be a part of a formal training program and then life throws them a curve. Granted, there are those who walk out the door on the morning of the marathon, don't like the weather, and decide that they'll just do Austin. I think that they're trying to keep people from doing that by getting them to pay more to commit earlier, but I would guess that those people have the money to do that anyway. I wouldn't be surprised to know that the three marathons work together, and that honestly wouldn't bother me. In fact, I kind of expect it. (But I have always had an issue with the "Marathons of Texas" monikor when there are 11 other ones.)
Do runners know that ahead of time? Sure. Does it mean that they have to like it? No, not at all.
I travel so I understand the parallels that could be thrown up about the buying airline tickets. I would counter with car rentals.
Do I think that the transfer fee is worth $40 to shred one bib number, issue another that won't have your name on it, and then make the database change? No, I don't. (And, yes, I believe that people should know that they won't get their T-shirt size. That's pretty common anymore.)
And do I think it can be done within 30 days of the event? Yes, I do.
As I've said before, the $40 transfer fee is done all on the marathon's terms, and yes, they have that right.
I just don't believe that the majority of people are signing up to run Houston based on Ryan Hall's performance last year. In fact, I specifically know of one training group in town whose coaches asked them the primary reason why they were running the event and 80-90% of over 110 runners in the group said that they were running it to finish or that they were doing it for themselves. So these are people who have money and I would gander to say that they couldn't tell you anymore information about Ryan Hall that he was the guy that set the record last year. Period.
As a journalist, I get information that comes to me that I have to protect the source so I get the most honest feedback and not to put people in incomfortable situations. And it just isn't me that are commenting about the higher prices and the transfer fee.
I also know of two direct instances regarding the event that were complete distortions of the truth. So who do you want me to out? I prefer not to, but it tells me that there is some spin going on - and I don't like it. One was before the '05 event and one was immediately after the '07 event - the latter I understand why it was done but it went contrary to public statments made in the same forum that today's article was.
I have been very blessed and trusted to be able to provide information to the event that they didn't have and hadn't researched. Jan Nierling, a wonderful and friendly woman (and RRCA-certified coach), would have eventually got to it. I pain when I see that the event doesn't get adequate attention or when better information - by media personnel that don't really care - can be used to tell a story.
When the event sent in an update asking runners in certain areas to contact their local papers about being featured, I personally wrote those sports editors to suggest some worthy people that I knew of that were deserving of the attention. It's what I do. I enjoy doing it, and most of the time only a few people privately know.
I also provided the event the courtesy to respond to information I posted on the RunHouston Chronicle blog and I left phone numbers to be contacted. I obviously wasn't taken seriously enough - because I didn't have an audience that would be heard - to be given a response. Perhaps if I would have been given an explanation as to the what's and the why's of the numbers, maybe I would have positioned that piece a little differently.
I have also received one piece of information about the '08 event that I was told separately that I've never mentioned because I respect the courtesy and the confidence that I was provided -- and I, by the way, think it is a good idea. It should enhance the overall experience for everyone this year - and that's all I can say.
If people want me gone, I'll go.
The only thing I get paid for is when I write a column in Runner Triathlete News. And I haven't written one since December 2006 when I wrote a piece about the 1984 Houston Marathon.
I think they deserve the benefit of the doubt on this one. In a brief search, I was only able to find a handful of races that even had a transfer fee. In most cases, the fee was ~$20, though the Kiawah Marathon in South Carolina had a $35 fee. I think at this point it's a bit of an experiment for them, so I understand the high transfer fee as a means to discourage people who might just register on a whim, knowing that they can sell the bib later. There will still be people who make a serious effort to train and get injured, and for them the policy is better than it has been. Maybe after this year the race committee find it was easier than they thought and will lower the fee. Who knows?
Re: transfer date--MCM's last day to transfer is generally in late September and the race is in late October, so 30 days is not that unreasonable. Even though you haven't done your last long run, *most* people tend to have a pretty good idea whether or not they'll be able to go on race day by then.
Incidentally, the Indy Mini hasn't even published their transfer criteria for 2008 yet, and registration has been open for three months. I've already registered, and if for some reason I can't run and am unable to transfer my bib, I'm ok with eating the entry fee.
As for the comments about Ryan Hall, well, that's hard to say, though I think "laughable schlock" was excessive. It's Steve's opinion that Hall's performance has raised the profile of the race, and I can certainly respect that. I do note that it made for a nice full-page ad in the national running mags, and maybe some folks around the country who may not have considered coming to Houston took note of the fast time and may think of coming to Houston for a PR or a BQ. From the perspective of comfort in training, winter tends to be a pretty good time for a race, as you aren't doing your long runs in the heat of the summer or in the snow and ice, which usually doesn't really kick in in most places until mid-January.
Just my $0.02.
Erin
Erin,
Thanks for the note. I appreciate your perspective, thoughts and comments.
The transfer fee for Indy last year was $20 for an event that had 35,000 registered runners. And $50 is a lot easier to eat than $100 and $70 - which I understand is the Marathon's point.
When I spoke with Mark Finucane and John Welderding for the December 2006 piece in RTN about the 1984 Houston-Tenneco Marathon, they came to Houston because the course was fast then (when it was up and down Memorial Drive) - and they were looking for a Olympic Trials qualifying time.
To me, it's being positioned that Hall's time is the reason that the course is suddenly fast, which I have a problem with.
It's ALWAYS been known that Houston's course is fast. I wasn't here then nor was I doing anything close to running then, but I've studied the event's past. The notion is like trying to sell ice to an eskimo. It's over the top.
I'm as mid-to-back of the pack as they come, but if Paul Tergat goes and sets a world record on a particular course doesn't mean that I'm going to go run the same one thinking that I can PR.
As far as the transfer fee goes, you're right. I stated in both blogs when the Marathon announced that they were going to do transfers of what the other fees were - and that most people weren't doing them. But when they came out as the highest? Hmmm. (I think Vermont City Marathon was another.)
I'll have to go to Finish Line Sports on October 13th for Tri Andy's Tri's packet re-sell - the day before the event - and see how they do it for myself.
The event deserves a ton of credit for going out and getting the USATF championships. The event was very, very well-respected by the elite athletes that communicated to me. I've never denied them that - and never will. And that is the reason why the times have dipped over the years.
Prize money, championships and qualifying times are what cause times to generally trend down.
Jon
Thanks for clearing that up about the article. Based on your blog, you train around 10 miles a week and have managed to place last or near last in your last 4 outings. Hence, I could not fathom you writing a piece on training. I would love to review the article. Send it to richarddent655@gmail.com.
You made a straw-man argument, in addition to being unnecessarily smug. You said that Karpas's comment was laughable and pure schlock, then supported your argument by saying that you could ask any training group in Houston why they're running Houston and you'd be surprised to hear that they're doing it because of Ryan Hall. That may be true, but that's not what Karpas said.
The quote was, "He also credits last year's exciting event for increasing interest in the city's big distance races".
What does that have to do with Houston runners? How do you know he was talking about increasing interest amoung HOUSTON runners? What if Karpas, who can see the full list of runners who have signed up and where they're from (something you've admitted you can't do) has noticed that a higher percentage than usual are coming from out of state? What if he's noticed that more top-flight runners are coming? All he said was that interest has increased, which he credited to the exciting event this past year. How can you argue with that? By pointing out how an average Houston runner feels?
Hall's accomplishment received major coverage in the running community. He crushed the American record and became the first American to go sub 1 hour in the half. He was also on the cover of Runner's World. Did that not raise awareness? You'd be hard-pressed to argue that it didn't. And anyone around the country who is looking to PR in the half saw those articles or that cover, or that time that he ran, and had to think, "I wonder where he did that".
Karpas could be wrong, but I doubt you have enough information, beyond the anecdotal, to dispute his statement. And it certainly isn't laughable.
Thanks for the comments, although I don't appreciate it being an anonymous post.
Much could have been solved over time if there was a phone call at any point in time to say, "I realize that you have a voice and an audience and that we don't see eye to eye on some issues. How about we go to lunch and talk things through face to face?"
Edwin Quarles and I asked for the elite athletes list as early as possible and we didn't get it until the Wednesday before the event. How do we get people excited about the event if we don't know who's coming and we have a limit of what is going to appear in the Chronicle?
I had a sponsor in the wings ready to buy a booth at the Expo - and a contact with an Internet radio station in town - to stream from the Expo both days - at no cost to the Marathon ... but to benefit them. I sent an e-mail asking if the booths had electricity and the ability to have a phone line so I knew what I needed financially. My communication wasn't returned.
We had nailed down the El Paso Corporation (this year's 5K sponsor) - on a suggestion from the McBrayers - to allow for us to display the painting of the 1984 Houston-Tenneco Marathon finish, but never received any communication about how the anniversary memorabilia was going to be setup.
It would have been nice to know from a HARRA standpoint that the McBrayers and Jack Lippincott were going to be inducted into the Hall of Fame so that we could have highlighted them on our website before the Expo so that people could have congratulated them in person and thanked them one more time for their contributions.
Edwin and I found out late on Friday afternoon and we got Sarah to refresh the front page late that day before she left work.
I had Megan Mastel (sp), Jan Nierling and others bend over backwards to get Edwin and I information - and a space to setup and work to try and get more information out on the Marathon. I was seen on the floor, recognized and addressed with an "Oh, you're Jon Walk" and a chance to discuss the post I made about last year's comments on this blog about people running with other's bib numbers ... but time couldn't be made. I was at the Expo all day both days.
I agree that respect is earned, but when you get rebuffed constantly with good intentions, you start to ask questions.
How did I know about Sean Wade running as a rabbit in '06? I heard the Marathon on a public affairs program with a former Houston sports talk personality that I personally know.
When I asked him before the '07 event if the Marathon was going to be on again? He said that he invited the Marathon, but he either hadn't heard back or they declined?
What do I see? The little guy that's loyal and hardworking, still committed to seeing the event get large but with all of the things that made it great in the past too ... getting brushed aside with the push to get bigger.
Why have I helped Jan on the media guide? Because she treats me well, respects the value that I add and is appreciative of the contribution of data to make the Marathon look good -- compared to Boston, Chicago and the Marine Corps Marathon's media guides?
It's too bad that I'm not a big-time sponsor who can pull in lots of dollars or influence lots of people. There are days that I wish I did to do some things that would be fun to promote the sport and its people.
Some other day.
Post a Comment
<< Home