by Larry Eder
Patrick Makau, 2011 BMW Berlin Marathon, photo by PhotoRun.net
In 2011, the World Marathon Majors (BAA Boston, Virgin London, BMW Berlin, Bank of America’s Chicago Marathon and ING New York City) showed that their commitment to the sport, providing quality experiences for citizen runners, providing stories that excite media interest and supporting the elite wing of the sport, seem to really come together. It is a testament to the growth of the sport that races continue to sell out in record time: quality events continue to rise to the top.
RBR recognizes the event management, event sponsors, volunteers and the tremendous talent in the sport for their record breaking year!
Here is what we saw that stood out (please send us your thoughts):
The events are listed in order of their date in 2011:
April 2011: Virgin London Marathon: This race produced great drama in 2011, with new men’s course record, but also the battle between Mary Keitany and Liliya Shobukhova. The amount of money raised for charities gives the Virgin London marathon so many stories to tell. Four hours of BBC coverage (all live), the most competitive fields of any marathon in the world, and Virgin London leads the way. Also, fascinating to observe the evolution in event leadership with David Bedford and Hugh Brasher. Our sport continues to professionalize and London leads the way.
April 2011: BAA Boston Marathon: The two fastest times, all conditions, in mens’ race, and the emergence of American Desi Davila (and Ryan Hall’s great finish), were two of the highlights of the BAA Boston race. Face it, this race is, well, iconic in all senses. May be, in North America, the best marketed race, by adidas and John Hancock. Truly, the race captures the city over the Marathon weekend. Adding the 5k and the elite mile races, as well as the kids events add to the interest in the event. The oldest marathon in North America continues to attract new runners and be the goal for many. The months of controversy over whether Boston was the world record course or not just exemplified the pr mantra that controversy kept the Boston marathon’s name in the media.
September 2011: BMW Berlin Marathon. New sponsor BMW should have been pleased with the outcome and media attention on Berlin. Patrick Makau’s epic world record, 2:03:38, and Haile Gebrselassie’s dramatic departure from the race put the race in front of media outlets across the globe. Berlin is an example of how major events find their own personalities-the inline skating field here is huge and plays into making this event a spectacular sports weekend in Berlin!
October 2011: Bank of America’s Chicago Marathon: The Chicago marathon had the spirit of the late Sammy Wanjiru in attendance. Liliya Shobukhova again broke her Russian record, running a superb 2:18:20. Moses Mosop, off six weeks of training, runs a new course record of 2:05.37, 35,000 plus runners finish in the Windy City. Superbly organized, a runner friendly expo, and an event that has the complete support of its host city. Again, an example of how major races work the strengths of their local communities. Shobukhova’s victory here gave her the Marathon Majors title, once again.
November 2011: ING New York City Marathon: The Big Apple loves the ING NYCM. In its 40th year, the races provided huge drama: Geoffrey Mutai’s victory was decisive and proved his Boston victory was not a fluke. Emmanuel Mutai’s second place gave him the Marathon Majors victory and a truly exciting finish to the men’s Marathon Majors title. Mary Keitany’s race to destroy the record was huge drama and gave us a women’s finish with huge drama!
But the winner in 2011 for ING NYCM was the NYRR, who continued to up the ante on the event, adding a 5k, improving the media center and press conferences, and, kept the weather nearly perfect!
The World Marathon Majors also held an event during the Womens marathon at the World Championships in Daegu, Korea, which gave many a great view of the race and perfect place to cover the event. Their support of the World Championship marathons is part of their success and reaching out to make the sport a more visible place and more vital sport. For that, we at RBR thank them, their sponsors and their supporters. They have made the sport more visible in 2011.
