Guy Morse: Boston Comes to Closure

By Peter Vigneron

On Nov. 13, the Boston Athletic Association announced that registration for the 2010 Boston Marathon had closed. It is only the second time in the marathon's history that registration has closed early (the first was last January), which BAA executive director Guy Morse believes is both the result of an increasing trend in marathon participation nationwide and an effort by the organization to alert potential runners that the race could fill up sooner than expected. "We encouraged people to register early," Morse says. "And they did."

Running Times: What are the underlying demographic reasons for increased participation?

Guy Morse: We encouraged them to register early, because there does seem to be renewed interest in the marathon. Both across the board―but I can only speak to Boston, and there seems to be more interest in the Boston Marathon than ever. And there are more qualifiers than ever. That's driving the need to register early, and we have a finite number of spaces. We're actually taking more qualifiers than ever before this year.

Have you given any thought to lowering the qualifying standard?

GM: We've looked at two ways, not that we're near making a decision, but we have looked at either trying to allow more runners to enter, which means greater capacity, although we're more interested in quality runners, versus quantity. That remains important to us―the quality of the run, not just the number of people running. So that's one way to go―to allow more participation. And another way, of course, is too look at the qualifying times and adjust them that way. We have looked at them, but we're in no position at this point to make any changes. But we have looked at it, and that is one option for the future.

People get excited about the number of charity runners, or the number of runners with spots that have been given away. But I keep hearing that it's important to have them in the race.

GM: I understand the mindset of the runner who has qualified or is trying to qualify, but at the same time, we are living in a much different world than we did 15, 20 years ago, and it's very important to these events, Boston included, to be more of an event that the community also benefits from. Therefore, the charity program is also very important to the Boston Marathon, and marathons in general.

Unlike all other marathons, however, we keep charity runner programs to a minimum. In many races, the large majority might be charity runners, but not in the case of Boston. For example, our ratio of qualifiers to non-qualifiers, 80 percent of the total are qualified runners, and 20 percent approximately, perhaps a little less, are mostly charity runners. Or invitational runners for sponsors or other community commitments. And that's a fact of life, that's just good business, in terms of hosting the event in this community. The charity act is a necessity of the world we live in.

Have you heard from any race directors for races that bill themselves as Boston qualifiers?

GM: We've heard from a few, and we certainly try to reach out to those races in advance to let them know that there might be an issue if we do close out. We weren't sure when we would close out, and we wanted to remind them that if that did happen, such as in Philadelphia, that the runner would be qualified for next year―the following year's Boston Marathon―already. But that is a concern, something that we try to deal with as best we can. It's a new reality that we have to live with.

What do you think is driving the increasing number of competitive performances in marathons?

GM: I see a renewed interest in fitness, generally. Even though the statistics right now might not bear this out, I see a renewed interest at the elementary and high school level for fitness. I think the pendulum is finally beginning to swing the other way. There's a realization that fitness, physical fitness, is important at all ages. I think that is driving the movement here. In my mind, it cuts across all these groups, not just the younger generation, but the older generation as well. Our qualifiers across the board are aging and they're still making it to Boston.

And you can't let in―even if it's a bunch of 2:50 men or 3:20 women―you can't just let another 10,000 or 15,000 people into the race? That wouldn't work?

GM: That's the struggle we have because certainly that would be an easy answer, to do that. However, we don't want to create an event that's too big for the venue. If you recall, back for the 100th marathon in 1996, we did create an event that had 38,000 runners, 25,000 of whom qualified. For that celebration we did expand, but there were many risks that were taken with an event that size in a venue that, for the Boston Marathon, is a 114-year-old course. We want this to remain a quality event, more than the size of the event. So the simple answer may be to expand the field, but we don't want to dilute the effective quality of it.

Have you heard from many runners that have qualifiers but can't register?

GM: We expected and have received several dozen emails, or in some cases phone calls, people wondering if it's really closed, or what happened, or “How did I miss it?” or “What can I do to get in?” and we're anticipating that, as was the case last year in January. It's just happening sooner. But I must say, not to a much larger amount than last year because I think a majority of runners who qualified were made aware that they need to apply early, so they did. It's the person who just recently qualified, or who wasn't aware for some reason that marathons are closing out, or that Boston was closing out early. That uninformed person didn't get their app in and we are hearing from them. So it's been several dozen, probably. But it's been almost a week now, and it seems to have leveled off. It wasn't anything that we didn't expect.

As I said earlier, we really are trying to strike a delicate balance between what is best for the event as a whole, but also what's best for all of our constituencies. That's certainly the qualifiers, number one, but also the charity programs, our sponsor obligations, and the other obligations to the running clubs and the communities that support us. We believe we have a balance that works quite well, though we're always looking for ways to improve it.

Do you think people may be entering defensively, where they're not sure if they want to run or not, but they're worried that it's going to close out so they enter anyway?

GM: There could be some of that. There's always a number of no-shows or medical deferments as you get closer. That could be the case but I'm not sure it is at the moment, though it's too early to tell.

You haven't seen an increase in the number of no-shows on race day recently?

GM: No, the percentage, whatever it is, has not really changed. But that is something that happens―the sooner the event closes out, the further away from the actual date, the worse that percentage actually is.