The Rise of the Half Marathon

Interesting piece here ... Note the size of the largest races in 2009.

Could Brooklyn handle 12,000, or more? I think it could, provided:

*National sponsor (beyond Contintental as the half-marathon sponsor)
*Allowing the whole park to be used for runners
*Better logistics, particularly at the start

Is there demand? Certainly. The tie-in to the economy seems to be going well (though most of the runners finished before Coney Island "opened" up, I love the idea of the coupon book and will be heading out there next weekend.)

Other thoughts (beyond what I've said before):

*Get a set date (I like idea of the weekend before Memorial Day as a set date) and set the course (obviously, PPark construction had an impact -- if I had to choose, I like last year's course better than this one).

*Hire local bands for Ocean Parkway - one per half mile. PLEASE (anything to break the monotony.) (Yeah, I'm sure the locals wouldn't like ... maybe a compromise there).

Leave the NYC Half for the prize money. Make this the People's Half for NYC!

OK, off the pedestal. Hope everyone went for an easy run today. :-)