Mistake waiting to happen
- By Doug Kurtis
Free Press Columnist

Putting on a running event can be an arduous task.   It is fraught with opportunities for mistakes or things that can go wrong. During the last few hours or days before a race, directors often describe the tasks at hand as organized chaos.

Over the last twenty years, I've created many entry forms. Before going to print, I usually attempt to pass them out to a few meticulous friends and a few people who wouldn't know anything about filling out the form, to get different perspectives. In spite of this process, I've printed 10,000 plus forms and still found errors after the fact. Fortunately, I've never forgot to include a sponsor.

One of a race director's biggest nightmares is sending runners the wrong way on the course.   Most events can't afford to paint a blue line along the entire route like the New York City Marathon or the Crim race in Flint.   Arrows on the corners can often get missed.   Volunteer course marshals are a godsend but it isn't difficult to make a mistake by misreading directions. Rarely do races have enough volunteer marshals to cover every turn.  

Runners need to take some responsibility for knowing the course but once the gun goes off it feels like time has speeded up and errors intensify.   One year, at the Yonkers Marathon, I was fortunate to have friends that gave me a course tour the day before.   On race day, the lead runner was so far ahead that we couldn't see the pace car. At a key juncture, there were no course marshals and I began to follow the runner ahead of me who went the wrong way up a hill.   My gut told me that this wasn't right so I turned around and eventually caught the leader with two miles to go.   The other lost runner didn't heed my warning and eventually dropped out of the race.

Police officers, for the most part, do a great job of handling irate motorist while directing runners. Race directors assume lead officers know the course but too often this is not the case. It's important to ensure that the lead vehicle driver has, at a minimum, done a course tour and has the confidence to take control of situations that arise.   It has become invaluable to have a pre sweep vehicle to drive out ahead of the runners to find any barricades or water stations located in the wrong place.  

Communication is the primary key to keeping the chaos at bay. I don't know how directors managed without cell phones. They reduce logistical issues significantly but don't always work effectively.   Two Way radios are helpful but their range is limited for some events, especially marathons.   Ham radio operators are a must for major events, especially with resolving medical issues.

One year at the Around the Bay 30km in Hamilton, Ontario the directors thought they had communicated the start time to Canal Lift Bridge operators.   Unfortunately, someone wasn't paying attention and the lift went up preventing most of the field from completing the race.   Fortunately, the miscue drew so much attention to the event that attendance dramatically increased the following year.   Hundreds of runners could share stories about trains stopping races.

Once a race reaches a thousand or more runners, distribution systems becomes a component of the operation.   Can you imagine walking into Meijer or Cosco and asking for 400 gallons of water and 10,000 cups? Then having a vehicle and lift loader to haul all of this away and get it to the fluid stations just in time for volunteers to set it up.   One year, at New York's New Year's Eve Run it was so cold that by the time runners arrived at aid stations everything was frozen solid.

Race directors become experts in calamity prevention.   They know something will go wrong. They just don't know which direction it will come from.

Contact Doug Kurtis at Detroit Free Press, 600 W. Fort St. Detroit, 48226