Blue Nose Marathon changes race routes

Date: 03/16/09

Author: By MONTY MOSHER Sports Reporter

Organizers of the Blue Nose Marathon hope a series of changes will alleviate the on-course headaches that left a few runners fuming following last year?s fifth anniversary event through the streets of Halifax and Dartmouth.

The race committee handled more than a dozen complaints that a combined 4,000 runners in the team relay, 5K, 10K, half marathon and full marathon got bottled up on a condensed course, got lost looking for their routes, ran headlong into city traffic and received incorrect directions from volunteers unable to cope with the crush of runners.

The leaders in the 5K were disqualified after being told to take the wrong route and Quebec?s Emilie Caron had her win in the women?s marathon erased when she missed a checkpoint and failed to perform a second loop around Citadel Hill before heading to Dartmouth. Other runners claimed they passed competitors on the course only to finish behind them in the results.

Rod McCulloch, a Blue Nose co-chairman and one of the event?s founders, acknowledged the problems and consulted many of the participants to seek solutions.

"Our whole objective is to create an extraordinary experience for everybody involved," said McCulloch, knowing that means balancing the interests of runners and spectators with those of residents, motorists and business owners. They tightened last year?s course into the downtown area after consultations with regional police.

"Last year, when we were redoing the course because we were creating some traffic problems in the west end of Halifax, we overdid it," he said. "And so we ended up with two or three areas on the route itself which created confusion."

Two major course changes are the result of a review.

The primary sore spot last year was at the corner of Agricola Street and North Street, where the fastest marathoners caught up to the slowest half marathoners. Both had different turns to make.

"We had people running up Agricola Street three times and turning off at different places, so that created confusion. So now they are only running up Agricola once and we?ve got them going up Maynard Street.

"When the full marathoners are heading out for their second loop over to Dartmouth they go up Maynard again. So there is no possibility of them running into the confusion we had there last time."

Last year?s route had runners coming up South Park Street to Sackville Street, which created havoc as they merged with runners who were looping around Citadel Hill.

This year runners coming down South Park will go west on to University Avenue and behind the hospitals before moving back up toward Agricola to reduce blockages.

Organizers have also adjusted the start times to prevent being swamped at the finish line.

The full marathon and half marathons will start May 17 at 9 a.m. with the 5K ten minutes later and the 10K 10 minutes after that. Last year it was full and the half at 9 a.m., the 10K 20 minutes later and the 5K 20 minutes after that.

In one five-minute span last year more than 1,000 racers came to the finish area. Projections for this year have no more than 400 reaching the end in any five-minute stretch.

There will also be some improvements to signage, another complaint from last year. However, McCulloch said runners in the middle of a race aren?t generally all that attentive to signs and the focus will be on giving volunteers all the assistance and support they need to guide the competitors in the right direction.

McCulloch said the kerfuffle from last year was short-lived. He said racers have been supportive leading into this year.

"That whole thing lasted for maybe two weeks. We communicated to absolutely everybody who had something to say. People were very positive. They said ?I love the Blue Nose, however . . .? There were a couple of people who were really ticked, but on balance what we got was positive feedback."

Last year?s misfortune hasn?t hurt enthusiasm for this year?s races. McCulloch expects as many as 9,000 participants in all weekend events, up from 7,800 last year.