WHEN IT unfolds on our city streets Sept. 5, the Charleston Distance Run likely will earn more compliments than usual. The newly designed course should be a bit more runner-friendly, and its pre- and post-race activities will take place at the magnificent Capitol. The changes might even attract a few additional runners at future Distance Runs.
WHEN IT unfolds on our city streets Sept. 5, the Charleston Distance Run likely will earn more compliments than usual. The newly designed course should be a bit more runner-friendly, and its pre- and post-race activities will take place at the magnificent Capitol. The changes might even attract a few additional runners at future Distance Runs.
But the race, a Labor Day weekend fixture in Charleston since 1973, faces greater competition than ever before, and its grueling hills and its 15-mile distance - qualities that make it distinctive - are detriments to growth. Even with this year's new design, the race will continue to draw only 500 or so runners, as it has for many years.
At a time when similar races are attracting 10,000 and 20,000 runners, it's possible that our race could fetch several thousand, at least. Or maybe, for the sake of tradition, we want to continue as a 15-miler with our distinctive West Virginia hills. We need to decide what we want.
If we want growth and if we want to fill our hotel rooms and restaurants, we can probably do so by making big changes, says race director Aaron Allred. The changes, he noted, would break with tradition but would not be costly.
Several things should help considerably - the elimination of the 6-mile South Hills section and the adoption of a standard distance, preferably a half-marathon (13.1 miles), on generally flat ground. It also would help to move the date to October to take advantage of cooler temperatures and avoid competition from half-marathons in Parkersburg and Virginia Beach, Va.
"We're never going to draw super-large numbers as long as we have a nonstandard distance and hills in the race,'' said Allred, an avid runner who works at the Capitol as a legislative manager and auditor.
Runners are often vain about their accomplishments, and they like to compare their times from one race to another. For those who excel at a half-marathon distance, a 15-miler is incompatible.
"You're far less likely to get somebody from Columbus to drive down here for this race when that runner knows he won't be able to compare what he does over the Labor Day weekend to what he did over the Memorial Day weekend,'' said Allred. "You can't compare it to what you ran in Nashville or Columbus or Richmond or Myrtle Beach. And even if we had a half-marathon here with hills, you're not going to run a fast race when you have to go up Corridor G.''
At the height of the running boom, the Charleston race drew three times as many runners as today and in 1988 attracted 1,847, a Charleston record, for the 15-miler.
Tony Gallo of Charleston worked as race director from 1977 through 1985 and knows that a lack of competition at the time contributed to the race's high numbers.
"We were the only [major] race in the country at that time,'' said Gallo. "There were some smaller races, but we were probably the main race. That's why we were able to draw so many runners. It was the time.''
WHEN IT unfolds on our city streets Sept. 5, the Charleston Distance Run likely will earn more compliments than usual. The newly designed course should be a bit more runner-friendly, and its pre- and post-race activities will take place at the magnificent Capitol. The changes might even attract a few additional runners at future Distance Runs.
But the race, a Labor Day weekend fixture in Charleston since 1973, faces greater competition than ever before, and its grueling hills and its 15-mile distance - qualities that make it distinctive - are detriments to growth. Even with this year's new design, the race will continue to draw only 500 or so runners, as it has for many years.
At a time when similar races are attracting 10,000 and 20,000 runners, it's possible that our race could fetch several thousand, at least. Or maybe, for the sake of tradition, we want to continue as a 15-miler with our distinctive West Virginia hills. We need to decide what we want.
If we want growth and if we want to fill our hotel rooms and restaurants, we can probably do so by making big changes, says race director Aaron Allred. The changes, he noted, would break with tradition but would not be costly.
Several things should help considerably - the elimination of the 6-mile South Hills section and the adoption of a standard distance, preferably a half-marathon (13.1 miles), on generally flat ground. It also would help to move the date to October to take advantage of cooler temperatures and avoid competition from half-marathons in Parkersburg and Virginia Beach, Va.
"We're never going to draw super-large numbers as long as we have a nonstandard distance and hills in the race,'' said Allred, an avid runner who works at the Capitol as a legislative manager and auditor.
Runners are often vain about their accomplishments, and they like to compare their times from one race to another. For those who excel at a half-marathon distance, a 15-miler is incompatible.
"You're far less likely to get somebody from Columbus to drive down here for this race when that runner knows he won't be able to compare what he does over the Labor Day weekend to what he did over the Memorial Day weekend,'' said Allred. "You can't compare it to what you ran in Nashville or Columbus or Richmond or Myrtle Beach. And even if we had a half-marathon here with hills, you're not going to run a fast race when you have to go up Corridor G.''
At the height of the running boom, the Charleston race drew three times as many runners as today and in 1988 attracted 1,847, a Charleston record, for the 15-miler.
Tony Gallo of Charleston worked as race director from 1977 through 1985 and knows that a lack of competition at the time contributed to the race's high numbers.
"We were the only [major] race in the country at that time,'' said Gallo. "There were some smaller races, but we were probably the main race. That's why we were able to draw so many runners. It was the time.''
And he agrees that a hill-strewn 15-mile course will not beckon to runners in pursuit of personal records.
"I think the 15-mile distance has become obsolete. That's my opinion,'' said Gallo. "The 15-mile race was a unique situation back then when I was director. And South Hills has become a problem for people who don't want to run the hills anymore. You could do a good 10-miler in the flats and finish at Laidley Field.''
Allred noted that a recent race in Richmond, Va., attracted 10,000 runners and is convinced that our race can do much better than it has.
"There's no reason we can't be drawing 2,500 here in Charleston,'' he said. "We're not as close to Washington and the Tidewater area as Richmond is. We're probably never going to draw 10,000 people, but there's no reason why we can't draw 2,500. And if we drew 2,500, it would be a real positive economic impact on the city because we'd be filling up all the hotel rooms and the restaurants. If you want to get to 2,500 runners, you have to make it a half-marathon and make it flat.''
Once the 2009 Charleston Distance Run is complete, the race committee will turn its attention to such matters as the race distance, the date and whether the hills will continue as part of the course.
"What do the runners in the community want and what does the community want?'' Allred asked hypothetically.
He knows, however, that changes will not come easily, especially after 37 years of tradition. "I guarantee you this,'' he said. "I would get a lot of resistance from some runners if we made it a half-marathon and made it flat.''
Reach Mike Whiteford at 304-348-7948 or mikewhitef...@wvgazette.com.
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