Deadline Reminders

May 1 (tomorrow) is the deadline to apply to the New York Marathon if you have a guaranteed entry (a slew of possibilities).

Also, May 1 at noon begins the opportunity to sign up for the NYC Half Marathon on Aug. 16. No pricing yet. I'm betting it's $90. Over? Under?

Could be under, given the Yankees are cutting their season ticket prices (or it could be the team they are fielding). I originally was thinking $100, but am hedging my bets. Still, most expensive half in the continental U.S.?

Check it out on the NYRR home page.

P.S. An interesting debate on the NYRR Facebook page about the More Marathon cancellation. In general, people think it was the right idea *but* think the timing of the decision to cancel was poorly handled given the weather forecasts.

First Boston Marathon

Nice piece here by a member of the Prospect Park Track Club about her first Boston Marathon (second item).

"I’d finally made it to the starting line at Boston!! I was able to keep the pace under control and got into a rhythm about 2 miles in. I was ready and everything was going according to plan. ... "

Prospect Park 3rd St Entrance Shut to Vehicles

From the Brooklyn Community Board 6 Web site:

"The Department of Transportation has announced that effective Monday, April 27, 2009, Prospect Park Drive's entrance and exit at 3rd Street will be closed to vehicular traffic. This closure is being implemented in order to increase recreational opportunities in Prospect Park. "

Running in the park when there are cars around (early morning, early evening), is not so great to begin with, but exists as an -- at least at this point in time -- necessary evil. This is a nice step, however.

Random Thoughts on a Monday Evening

I've spent an inordinate amount of time in the past 36 hours doing, well, nothing, as I've waited for various things to occur (most of them did, eventually). So that's left me with plenty of time for some random thoughts while I sit here and ice (and a way to catch up for the past week of no blogging).

-- Quote of the Week 1:

"I thought all runners would be serious loners. I'd been an amateur boxer when I was younger, so running was something that I did, but I did it alone and never really loved it. I never thought about it as fun. When I joined the club {Brooklyn Road Runners}, I started meeting people and running with them. I absolutely have achieved the goals that I had when I first joined -- to get serious and to get faster -- but I didn't realize I'd also tap into a whole social network of runners.

--Elias Hernandez, Brooklyn Road Runners, Spring 2009, New York Runner

-- Quote of the Week 2:

“Along with not-so-subtle nods to Eliot, Faulkner and Kipling (a 4:30 miler), "Once a Runner” features some near-Joycean experiments with time. According to Cheever, it takes 15 minutes to read aloud the account of the climactic mile that Quenton runs in less than four. Cheever called the novel “so inspiring that it could be banned as a performance-enhancing drug ... ”

--Jennifer Schuessler, New York Times Book Review, April 26. "Once a Runner" hit the hardcover list at #14 this week, and can be bought here for $15.29. A bargain, consider it cost $100 or more to get a used copy of this classic.

-- Have I mentioned that "Once a Runner" is the ***best*** running book ever! (Here's what Running Dangerously thinks.) And while there have been some close contenders, I'm still think "Chariots of Fire" is the best running movie ever.

-- Despite the heat over the past weekend (and no sub-50 temperatures in sight), the water fountains at Cadman Plaza Park (at the entrance to the Brooklyn Bridge) have yet to be turned on. Then again, you can pay $2 for a bottle of water in multiple places on the bridge ... should you be able to run at all through the masses on the coming weekends.

-- The Brooklyn PTA Run for the Schools is this Saturday (May 2) in Prospect Park. If you're not planning a long run, or other race that weekend, worth checking out (full disclosure: I have kids in the Brooklyn schools, so this benefits me :-)) And hopefully lots of you out there.

-- On a related note (as screams start escalating from the other room -- I suspect another sharing problem), here's a question, that I'll spend a little more time answering in the coming weeks. My oldest child asked me tonight when we'd go out and do a race together. A valid question: For those of you who have younger kids and run with them, where do you go? Do you run the NYRR races? Some of the PPTC races? I'll try to pull together a list of decent places where adults and kids can race.

-- New York Half Marathon registration begins noon on May 1, on a first-come, first-served basis, according to the NYRR Web site. The race is Aug. 16. The link on the Web site is not-clickable at this point in time, but figure the fees for this race will approach $100.

-- If you care about NYRR news, it's worth having Facebook and Twitter accounts. Right now, that seems to be where the newest information is coming from, and not from their Web site or via e-mail.

-- BTW, how hard is it to include the "cap" number on information about a race? The NYC Half has a cap of 10,000 runners (give or take an adjustment). What about for the various Central Park races? Not an idle thought - the size of the race is one of the criteria I use in deciding what I'll do.

-- Has anyone planned a run past the giant salt pile in Red Hook?

-- Race series kick off en masse next month:

Tuesday Night Speed Series, Icahn Stadium
Prospect Park 5Ks, Prospect Park
VCTC X/C 5Ks, Van Cortlandt

-- Let me circle back to the quote at the beginning of the post and urge you, if so inspired, to go out and try to join up with some of the various groups that run in Prospect Park. PPTC, Brooklyn Road Runners, Team in Training, JackRabbit, Nike -- and others -- all have large groups that conduct workouts in the park. Believe me, I'm a huge fan of running solo - I use those runs to work out various life problems, target specific workouts, etc. But I'm also a huge fan of running with people - *BECAUSE YOU LEARN FROM OTHERS* and it's fun.

Oh, and it's a good excuse to plan a post-run libation. :-). Happy trails.

Procastinators, Take Note!

The deadline for the guaranteed entry to the New York Marathon is Friday, May 1, at 11:59 p.m.. Details of all the various qualifying standards are here.

What Happens When I Leave Town

No blog posts (friggin' spotty Internet connection), 80-plus degree temperatures, and a canceled marathon in New York.

Pretty typical, I must say. For those of you who braved the scorching temperatures (scorching given the fact that we'd been training in 40 and 50 degrees for the past few weeks), congratulations - I hope, above all else, it was a safe run.

Boston Finishers

Hopefully, the formatting doesn't get mucked up, but here's an official list of the 98 Brooklyn residents who finished Boston today.

Lname	Fname	Age	Sex	Time
Real	Jorge	38	M	2:33:26
Mulia	Adam	33	M	2:40:33
Joseph	Kirt	38	M	2:43:57
Alm	David	33	M	2:49:57
Juravich	Nick	25	M	2:51:32
Bither	Christopher	38	M	2:53:13
Girling	Adam	32	M	2:54:47
Rohl	Jonathan	30	M	2:57:54
Hornsby	Jonevan	32	M	2:59:09
McCarthy	Bridget	29	F	2:59:16
O'Rourke	Peter	21	M	2:59:52
St. John	Beth	32	F	3:00:25
Carmona	Rich	25	M	3:00:42
Miller	Alexander	40	M	3:01:34
Horak	Steven	24	M	3:01:45
O'Connell	Arien	25	F	3:02:52
Heasman	Daniel	35	M	3:07:22
Gray	James	32	M	3:07:30
Gowdie	Gary	36	M	3:07:30
Dow	Mary	28	F	3:07:57
Walder	Michael	33	M	3:11:24
Camp	Chris	26	M	3:11:50
Bobadilla	Leonardo	39	M	3:11:52
Daignault	Ronald	44	M	3:14:44
Lynch	Donald	41	M	3:15:40
Yozzo	Ralph	46	M	3:16:18
Scott	Sarah	31	F	3:16:31
Reynolds	David	28	M	3:17:04
Dulchin	Benjamin	42	M	3:17:07
Lambert	Wade	48	M	3:19:15
Barrett	Ryan Alyson	30	F	3:19:42
Dellaert	Gilles	30	M	3:19:51
Coups	Elliot	35	M	3:20:12
Nilsestuen	Benjamin	26	M	3:20:37
Roundell	James	31	M	3:20:38
Stricker	Elizabeth	44	F	3:21:08
Almgren	Jonas	45	M	3:21:39
Monti-Wohlpart	Tim	37	M	3:22:42
Diaz	Hernan	35	M	3:23:20
Janssen	Stephanie	31	F	3:23:35
Blausey	Daniel	46	M	3:23:36
Wengler	James	40	M	3:23:44
Bely	Nikita	23	M	3:24:37
Abraszek	Kevin	43	M	3:25:29
Rodgers	Michael	33	M	3:25:52
Cohen	Molly	30	F	3:26:43
Morrison	Audrey	26	F	3:26:55
Pelletier	Elise	28	F	3:28:07
Yanek	Cheryl	29	F	3:28:31
Yu	Peter	65	M	3:31:34
Ottaviano	Joanne	36	F	3:32:20
Levandoski	Kim	41	F	3:32:41
Greviskes	Amber	25	F	3:33:12
Moreira	Patricia	28	F	3:34:09
Henry	Michael	47	M	3:34:34
Serpico	Rose Ann	39	F	3:34:43
Van Hellemont	Michelle	29	F	3:35:22
Ripley	Ralph	49	M	3:35:24
Winship	Caleb	50	M	3:36:05
Burt	Rachel	29	F	3:36:15
Capolngo	Maria	31	F	3:36:26
Mylott	Michael	49	M	3:36:43
Frazier	Moffat	39	F	3:37:55
Berotti	Susan	30	F	3:38:08
Adams	Wesley	45	M	3:39:10
Hobbs	Holly	29	F	3:39:23
Lynch	Briehan	29	F	3:39:55
Capel	Jill	30	F	3:39:55
Liou	Beth	41	F	3:40:19
Chefitz	Sandra	31	F	3:41:55
Enos	Veronique	40	F	3:42:24
Rosenberg-Beran	Rebecca	27	F	3:42:52
Taylor	Lee	30	F	3:44:42
Dussling	Lyndsey	28	F	3:44:48
Van Doren	Deborah	35	F	3:44:57
Long	Abigail	32	F	3:46:58
Salinas	Carlos	30	M	3:49:03
Mannino	Jo Ann	43	F	3:49:55
Holmes	Allie	28	F	3:50:38
Gottschalk	Naomi	36	F	3:51:35
Malinick	Kathryn	28	F	3:53:48
Braun	Rhonda	25	F	3:55:15
Emery	Lindsey	30	F	3:55:44
Fyodorova	Anna	27	F	3:58:04
Nebel	Terroll	57	M	3:58:46
Marcoux	Edward	47	M	3:59:30
Gomez	Brooke	35	F	4:00:19
Prior	Andrew	31	M	4:01:17
Shepherd	Toby	24	M	4:03:29
Santoni	Lewis	50	M	4:06:38
Weber	David	31	M	4:06:43
Berndt	Christopher	37	M	4:06:44
Roth-Fleming	Lisa	30	F	4:09:34
Crowley	Mary	49	F	4:13:08
Nielsen	Julie	25	F	4:40:17
Repanich	Jeffrey	30	M	4:50:54
Kaye	Eva	38	F	5:16:59
Greenleaf	Cat	37	F	5:26:52

Running Shoes: Bad for You?

So, you're sitting in a Boston-area hotel, nervously sweating out the final few hours before the race you've spent the past year focusing on (qualifying, training, etc.). So, to while away the hours, you turn to the local newspaper (the Boston Globe, one of the many whose existence is threatened.)

And then you read this passage:

"Running shoes are a failed experiment. After nearly four decades of technological gimmicks and outrageous prices, they simply do not perform the function that's their only reason for existence -- protecting your feet."

The article in today's Sunday magazine, "What Ruins Running," argues that the softer running shoes caused us to change our running mechanics, and rather than landing on the ball of our foot, we now more prominently make a heel-to-toe stride, and that's caused even more problems.

The change in foot plant is one of the reasons why there's a number of proponents of barefoot running (and, for that matter, one of the marketing reasons behind the Nike Free running shoes).

Not saying I totally buy the argument made in the article, but I'm also fully in the camp of that individuals are unique (duh) and that some types of training will work well for some and not for others.

Meanwhile, something to think about.

Run as One 4M Results

are here. Beautiful conditions this morning for a race.

More than 7,500 runners finished in another one of those "capped" races (what the cap was is unclear, but it's obvious that any assumptions about stopping at 5,000 are wrong - so unless the information is given, no way of knowing whether it's a 2,000 cap? or a 10,000 cap).

JFK Runway Run Results

are here.

Tony Watson from the Prospect Park Track Club was the top Brooklyn finisher (6th overall, 1st in Male 50-54) with a 19:51. Kadian Dunkley won the women's division with a 20:45.

Some photos and commentary from One Runners World here (and one of the photos).

Boston Marathon Monitoring

For those of you who want to watch the race Monday online, it can be seen here on Universal Sports, with coverage beginning at 9:30 a.m. Can Ryan Hall and Kara Goucher pull off an American double? Realistically, the odds on both of them doing it are slim - but can you imagine the excitement and the boon to distance running in this country if it happens?

115 runners from Brooklyn are listed on the entry database. And here are the instructions to track specific athletes.

And for those of you who get inspired, here's a list of entry qualifying times in case you want to try to gain entry in the 2010 version - being run a year from today.

Best of luck everyone!

Brooklyn Half Course Description

As expected, the Brooklyn Half starts in Prospect Park and ends out at Coney Island.

One downside to the course change - now you have to do the Prospect Park hills twice. The description on the NYRR Web site doesn't say whether the course will be run clockwise or counterclockwise (though races in the park are usually counterclockwise).

"Two full loops of Prospect Park, exiting West Drive onto Prospect Park Southwest to Park Circle; Ft Hamilton Parkway to North Bound Lane of Ocean Parkway traveling south onto Surf Avenue ( East Bound Lane); left turn onto West 2nd entrance ramp onto boardwalk (near handball courts); turn right (west) on boardwalk. Finish: On boardwalk behind Keyspan Field."

NYC Half Entry Procedures

As was pointed out in one of the comments, the NYC Half is *not* a lottery this year as mentioned in an earlier post - it's entry on a first-come, first-serve basis, with spots for 10,000 runners.

Online registration starts on Friday, May 1 (no time is set as of yet).

Off the Beaten Path

Speaking of which, while tons of people are comfortable just doing loops in Prospect Park (and an adventurous few even use the transverses), keep in mind that, well, it's a park! Lots of trails and paths and places to go.

For example, take the above picture. A beautiful path. Where does it go? Don't get tied to mileage - veer off the loop and find out (the entrance to this path, by the way, is near the Prospect Park Zoo.). If you're planning to run the 3.35 mile loop in 30 minutes - keep the watch on and run 30 minutes, but just take the random approach. Who cares where you go. After all, to quote Buckaroo Banzai, no matter where you go, there you are.

(I will note, with some irony, that I took the photo as I was in fact doing a loop of the park!)

Springtime in Prospect Park

On a day when the temperature may hit the 70s, what are you doing indoors reading this blog? Get outside and join these runners!

NYC Half Aug. 16

The NYC Half (not sponsored by Nike, it looks like) is Aug. 16. Given the club championships were Aug. 15, it seems those are likely to move (I've seen other blog posts saying that race was moved to Aug. 8, but no confirmation so far.

On the plus side, it's a pretty fast course, and fun to run. On the downside: you'll have to enter through a lottery and it's gonna cost you. Oh, did I mention the August heat/humidity?

Scotland Run: 7,603 Finishers?

I'm out of town, otherwise I might have headed into today's 10K in Central Park. As it is, need to rely on someone to verify what seems to be an astounding statistic: The NYRR Web site lists 7,603 finishers for today's race? (Given the apparent 5,000 cap, and the notice on the NYRR Web site that it was nearing capacity ... )

For anyone who ran today, can you say how it went? Crowded? Worked like a charm?

Fast 10K in Jersey City

For those of you looking for a fast, flat 10K with which to hit a PR (and it's three weeks before the Brooklyn Half so a little more time to recover), check out the Newport 10,000 on May 9. The next weekend is Healthy Kidney in Central Park (as a blogger just pointed out) - so you can compare and contrast. (10K raced on no hills, vs. 10K on hills).

I ran Newport a couple of years back - minimal hills, a bunch of turns and a lot of support. And it's easy to get to - just hop the Path train.

Fifty Days to the Brooklyn Half

Now that the worry about the date is out of the way, note that you have 50 days until the Brooklyn Half marathon, Brooklyn's largest race of the year.

Stuck inside during the winter? Still only logging a few miles a week? No fear, there's still time to get prepared for the 13.1 mile race -- if you start getting committed now (and hopefully you've already been training - most plans I see there consist of 10 weeks).

Take some time and map out a training schedule over the next several weeks (including today, you have 50 training days). There's a link here to give you some ideas, whether you are a beginner or looking to set a PR.

Some thoughts:

-- If you haven't been logging the miles on the road, you want to gradually build your weekly mileage as well as the length of your long run over the next 50 days.

-- If you don't already use Prospect Park as a training base, you'll want to run there a few times as it looks like this year's race a) will start there, and b) may consist of two loops before heading out to Coney Island (the course description is TBA). That means the hills are at the beginning, with the last part of the race on Ocean Parkway completely flat.

-- Keep a look out on this blog (and elsewhere) for some local 5Ks and 10Ks, and use them as part of your training.

Marathon Majors

Some interesting comments by NYRR CEO Mary Wittenberg in this interview transcript, particularly when it comes to a "race series." This was part of a call of race directors discussing the marathon majors (Boston, Chicago, New York, London, Berlin)

Note this from Wittenberg on fees (she's talking about marathons, specifically):

``I think there’s a lot of opportunity left, getting people engaged. In terms of pricing, the key point here, two of the three of us are not for profit, and one, Chicago, is community based. If we were pure for-profit, perhaps like Ironman, perhaps like other sports, sure, we could push it a lot higher. We walk a fine line, all of us. We review our pricing in painstaking detail to figure out what is fair.'

You want to have it be more than a sport of the elites. This is a sport of the people, and we try to keep it affordable and when we allow people to pay up, they pay up for good reason. In each of our races, you’ve seen the charity programs grow. "

One suspects that, given all the NYRR calendar maneuvering this year, for whatever reason, the races available for runners in the coming years will be vastly different in the coming years. This could be good, this could be bad - we'll have to wait and see. That said, there continue to be a ton of races outside the NYRR purview that offer some great race experiences - just check out the calendar that gets posted every month for some ideas.

As we all deal with one of the worst recessions in recent history, it's going to have an impact on sponsorship, costs, etc. and that's going to affect us in many ways.

Thankfully, simply going for a run is free :-)

Brooklyn Half Registration Opens

Whoohoo! Brooklyn Half registration is open for ... May 30!

No course yet, but at least we have a date.

Brooklyn Takes the Bronx

Brooklyn's Helen Dole, a Prospect Park Track Club member, was the women's overall champion at today's Urban Environmental Challenge up at Van Cortlandt. Corre Kombol, also of the PPTC, was third. Full results from that race will be posted by Thursday, organizers say.

Results from today's Run for the Parks 4M are here. Of note, this race had 5,739 finishers, seemingly well beyond the 5,000 cap set for Central Park races.

Congrats to everyone who went out today and enjoyed some absolutely fantastic weather!

Upcoming Races

This is by no means a complete race list -- missing a bunch of Long Island and Connecticut races that might be of interest, but have runout of time this evening ... so start with this and look for an update within the next few days.

April 5: Urban Environmental Challenge (10K), Van Cortlandt, Bronx

April 5: City Parks Foundation 4M, Central Park

April 11: Homecoming Scotland Run (10K), Central Park

April 11: 2 for Life 5K, Jersey City, NJ

April 18: River Edge Run, River Edge, NJ

April 18: NYIT 5K, Old Westbury, NY

April 18: Earth Day 2009 5K, Jersey City, NJ

April 19: Run As One 4M, Central Park

April 19: JFK Rotary Club 5K Runway Run, JFK Airport

April 19: Westfield 5 Miler, Westfield, NJ

April 25: Spring Fun Run (4M), Long Beach, NY

April 25: Run for the Wild (5K) Bronx Zoo

April 25: Run with the Rams (5K), Westbury, NY

April 26: Run to Combat Autism (5K), Bay Ridge

April 26: More Marathon/Half Marathon (CLOSED), Central Park

April 26: Roosevelt/Edison 5K, Westfield, NJ

April 26: Alley Pond 5M Challenge, Queens Village, NY

April 26: Robbie’s Run (4M), Merrick, NY

April 26: Quest for the Cure (5K), Mountainside, NJ

April 26: Susan Komen Race for the Cure (5K), Newark, NJ

And a look down the road at some others …

May 2: Brooklyn PTA 5K, Prospect Park

May 2: Long Island Marathon 5K, Uniondale, NY

May 3: Long Island 10K/Half/Marathon, Uniondale, NY

May 3: New Jersey Marathon/Half, Long Branch, NJ

May 5: Tuesday Night Speed Series, Icahn Stadium

May 21: VCTC X-C Series, Van Cortlandt, Bronx

May 27: PPTC Speed Series, Prospect Park

May 30 (?): Brooklyn Half Marathon, somewhere in Brooklyn

June 7: Riverdale Ramble (10K), Bronx

NYRR Calendar Glitch on Capped Races?

If you go onto the NYRR Web site now, *all* of the scheduled races, regardless of venue, have the "C" designator indicating they are capped races. If true (which I doubt), this would mean all the races outside of Central Park now have caps.

Have got to think a programmer accidentally slipped up - NYRR has a hard enough time getting people up to the cross-country races in the Bronx. Initially I saw the C next to the Brooklyn Half and started to wonder, but it pervades the calendar.

One note: the Fifth Avenue Mile has been moved to Sept. 26, so it no longer conflicts with the Queens Half. But given the calendar movements, don't mark it on your own datebook in permanent marker.

Mary Wittenberg to Speak at PPTC Meeting

NYRR CEO Mary Wittenberg and some staff members will be at the PPTC regular monthly meeting on April 6, according to this posting on the PPTC blog. This oughta be interesting, since plenty of questions are likely to be asked about the Brooklyn Half, race scheduling, and the whatnot.

Trail Race Sunday

Remember when you were younger, and it rained, and you delighted in going outside in your boots and jumping in the puddles?

Of course, some of us still do. :-)

I suspect there will be plenty of opportunity up at Van Cortlandt Park this weekend for the Urban Environmental Challenge 10K. Partly on the VC cross-country trails, but often plunging into the woods, it's a incredibly fun trail race. Fast times depend on the course conditions: if it's been arid, then you can blaze through the course. If it's been raining (like today's soaker and the rain forecast Saturday night), the course tends to ... well ... eat your shoes when you get stuck in the mu (though the Sunday forecast looks beautiful.)

It's a relatively small race (last year had 182 finishers), and a complete blast. Well worth the hourlong slog (or more) from Brooklyn.

For those of you who don't like being cold, wet and dirty (for you quite likely will be at least two of the three - something about trying to barrel down hills that have slippery rocks, roots and streams waiting at the bottom may be a factor), NYRR has a 4 mile race in Central Park Sunday as well. And no, it's not capped, at least of this writing.

Track Talk

For those of you who live for the outdoor track season, take note of some dates:

NYRR has posted a list of the Tuesday night speed series, at Icahn Stadium on Randall's Island

*Tuesday, May 5 - 1500m, 400m, 800m, 3000m, 4 x 400m relay
*Tuesday, May 19 - 1500m, 400m, 800m, 3000m, 4 x 400m relay
*Tuesday, June 9 - 1500m, 400m, 800m, 3000m, 4 x 400m relay
*Tuesday, June 16 - 1500m, 400m, 800m, 3000m, 4 x 400m relay

Racing starts at 7 p.m.

Also, the USATF Metropolitan is still firming up its schedule, though it looks like something (not sure what) will be at the Red Hook track. This from the Web site.

New USATF-Metropolitan Programs

April 2009- Senior Citizen Fitness Program in Red Hook (walking and nutrition clinics) in partnership with WellCare and the City of New York Parks & Recreation. More information coming soon. Volunteers need.

April 16, 2009 - June 4, 2009 - Fastest Kid in Brooklyn in partnership with NYCHA and the City of New York Parks & Recreation. More information coming soon.

There will also be other meets, held in other parts of the city.

Scotland Run Nears Capacity

Those of who you are looking to sign up for the Scotland Run 10K should do it forthwith - NYRR just posted a "nearing capacity" notice on its Web site. Race day is April 11 (and for those of you who care, it's also a club points race).

No word if we'll have Robert Burns lookalikes lining the course in honor of Scotland's homecoming. More importantly, what kind of whisky will be passed out at the water stops (Talisker? Oban?)

The next 10K in the park, by the way, is the Health Kidney 10K on May 16. And, once I get the race calendar put together, I'll highlight some other spring races - there's plenty to choose from.

New Half in New York in 2010?

New England Runner has a following snippet in its e-mail newsletter, saying that U.S. Road Sports & Entertainment Group will expand their 13.1 marathon series to four new cities in 2010, including New York.

The link is to their Web site, which doesn't say anything (frustrating), but the group has worked with major race organizers in the past, so it's possible that some deal is in the works with the NYRR (and may involve the New York Half Marathon, formerly (currently?) sponsored by Nike. Admittedly, this is just speculation.

As for the Brooklyn Half ... was so tempted to put up an April Fool's item saying that NYRR had finally scheduled the race for March 30 so people would have an early spring half marathon to run. But then I saw Google, and realized their joke this year was a lot more fun (and this, and this - hopefully the links hold past midnight).