A road map to attracting more elite runners

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This article was published 20/06/2015 (3793 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba Marathon veterans might want to take one last look around the course on Sunday, because next year they’ll be running it backwards.

Not with their backs to the finish line, mind you — although that would be quite a feat — but Manitoba Marathon officials are “95 to 99 per cent sure” 2016 is the year they’re going to switch the starting and finish lines and reverse the route.

Rachel Munday, executive director of the Father’s Day tradition, said she is hoping to attract more out-of-town runners, and having the latter part of the course shaded from the sun will improve the conditions and should make it more attractive to run.

Granted, both the start and finish to the 26.2-mile course are at the University of Manitoba, but rather than having Wildwood Park, Crescent Park Drive, Wellington Crescent and Assiniboine Park for the first 11 miles — roadways and paths that are largely shaded — they’re going to be at the end, which should make it easier for participants to grind out those last few miles without feeling like they’re running in a kiln.

“It’s the easiest way for us to change the course without going through a major change,” she said.

Getting the bridge on Bishop Grandin Boulevard out of the way at the start of the race could be just as important, known for its excruciating heat.

Marathon organizers considered changing the course this year. But Munday only stepped into the top job on March 1, taking the place of retiring Shirley Lumb, and there wasn’t enough time to roll out the reversal for 2015.

Is it time? “Some change would be good,” said Len Rolfson, who has run every marathon since the inaugural run in 1979. “It may be a sign of things to come, like (Munday) alluded to. This marathon’s been successful for years, and there’s nothing wrong with it, but anything to make it a little more appealing to people will be great.”

Going forward, Munday, who was formerly the events coordinator at the Running Room, has even bigger dreams. Someday, she imagines a marathon route that will breeze over the Provencher Bridge go past the Canadian Museum for Human Rights and other notable Winnipeg sights.

“There’s a lot of beautiful landmarks we’d love to capture on the route,” Munday said at a marathon luncheon Friday.

The course is only one of a number of changes that could be coming for the marathon, part of what Munday described as a five-year plan to attract more elite runners, draw in more cheering support from the community and boost the marathon’s year-round presence.

Some of those tweaks will be in place on Sunday. The marathon is changing its start, moving it from University Crescent to Chancellor Matheson Road. The latter street will be shut down entirely to traffic, which Munday hopes could boost the festival feel to the event.

On that end, the marathon route will also be rocking this year, as more than 20 local musicians will perform at key junctures along the route. Some of the artists include acclaimed local taiko drum outfit Fubuki Daiko, an accordionist and a rockabilly band. Finally, the post-race recovery area is moving back to near the finish line.

A big part of the rationale behind the expected changes is to try to make the race more of a destination marathon.

There is that potential, Munday said, noting the route is one of the flattest in North America, with an elevation variation of just 10 feet. That can be attractive to elites chasing better times, and the executive director would like to see the marathon reach out more to top runners.

 

— with files from Melissa Martin

geoff.kirbyson@freepress.mb.ca