NYC Half this weekend: bigger, bolder, better in spring

By Elliott Denman, Universal Sports

In terms of speed, it figures to be sensational, with the great Gebreselassie hoping to challenge his own men's event record (59:24 in 2007) and Kastor expected to lead the assault on the women's record (1:09:43 by Catherine "The Great" Ndereba in 2006.) In terms of participation, however, it won't be nearly as big as the 41st edition of the ING New York City (full) Marathon, coming up on November 7.

Then again, it's definitely getting there. Do the math.

While the racing distance is 1 to 2 (13.1 miles to 26.2), the field will be roughly 1 to 3 (14,821 runners to about 44,000.)
But look at it this way - the Half-Marathon's history ratio is less than 1 year in 8. Born in 2006, it's the new kid on the block, compared to the ING NYC 26.2-mile biggie, born in 1970.

Of course, nothing is forever - most certainly in the running sport, whose essence is humanity on the move - and totally aware of that fact of life is Mary Wittenberg, CEO of the New York Road Runners.
Under Wittenberg's stewardship, the ING NYC Marathon continues reaching greater annual heights.

It was launched by the visionary Fred Lebow in 1970 as a small-potatoes romp around a Central Park-only loop course; then squired by Allan Steinfeld through further growth years following Lebow's passing in 1994, and since 2005 piloted by the innovative Wittenberg.
So it's no surprise to followers of the running sport that Wittenberg, and her New York Road Runners team of staffers and volunteers, are determined to make the Half-Marathon big and bigger and bigger yet.

"The Half-Marathon's potential for growth is unlimited," Wittenberg said in a telephone interview. "Its growth can be endless. Not everybody can be a (full) marathoner. Realistically, 26 miles may be beyond many people. But I think just about anybody who puts in the training should be able to do 13. It's a great distance, a realistic quest and challenge for everybody."

Wittenberg sees the shift of the Half-Marathon date from the dog days of mid-summer to the second official day of spring as a huge plus, too. The first NYC Half-Marathon was held on Aug. 27, 2006. Succeeding events were staged on Aug. 5, 2007; July 27, 2008, and Aug. 16, 2009.
Even with a 7 a.m. starting time, runners had to cope with some serious heat and humidity those four years. Official temperature listings were 67 degrees (2006), 71 (2007), 70 (2008) and 77 (2009.)

"The change to (earliest spring) is revolutionary for us, but full of promise, too," Wittenberg said. She sees it as a huge encouragement to runners - of all paces, from the world-class pros at the front of the pack, to the local club and fitness runners in the middle and back of the pack - to maintain their training programs through the often brutal stretches of winter.
With this major challenge now circled on their calendars for the third Sunday of March - and starting time revised to 7:30 a.m. - they can count on saying their goodbyes to the days of ice, snow and cold with wide smiles.

From the announced, accepted lfield of 14,821 runners (gathered from 46 states and 29 nations) this year, Wittenberg sees rapid expansion on the Half-Marathon's horizon. (Over 22,000 applied for those designated spots.)
"It can easily rise to 20,000 or 25,000, pretty quickly, in the years ahead," she said. "We'd have to make some course adjustments to make that happen, and we'd have to work things out with the city to get that done, but I see it happening."

The Half-Marathon course, as now configured, starts in territory familiar to all who've ever done the ING NYC Marathon. But then it heads to the southerly regions of Manhattan that the full-marathoners never experience.
The 13.1-milers start out at 94th Street at Central Park's East Drive, just inside Fifth Avenue, and take a full, clockwise loop around the interior of the park. They then exit at Central Park South, and head down Seventh Avenue to Times Square. A right urn onto 42nd Street takes the runners crosstown to 12th Avenue. After a U-turn around 44th Street, they race down the West Side Highway,along the Hudson River-hugging roadway to the finish line at West Street, just south of Chambers Street.

When they catch their breath, they can peer across the river to Lower New York Bay and catch a world-class view of the Statue of Liberty off in the distance. As the NYRR puts it, "the course celebrates the city."
When, as Wittenberg predicts, the entry field expands in the near future, it can happen by instituting graduated, "wave" starting procedures, then running some of the early distance outside Central Park, then heading into the park to run the route as done now.

New York is not alone in its targeting the Half-Marathon for steady growth. Three other World Marathon Majors - Boston, Chicago and Berlin - stage their own big 13.1-milers. Actually, the March 21 race is just one of eight 13.1-milers on the NYRR's annual schedule. The Manhattan Half-Marathon was run on on Jan. 24 (all in Central Park) and won by Justin Scheid (1:08:04) and Caroline Lefrak (1:16:52.)
Later in the year come the More Half-Marathon (for women) on April 25, the Brooklyn Half-Marathon May 22, the Bronx Half-Marathon Aug. 15, the Queens Half-Marathon Sept. 12, the Grete's Great Gallop Oct. 2, and the Staten Island Half-Marathon Oct. 10.

After years of staging these much-lower-key half-marathons, NYRR raised the stakes in 2006. The event was big-time from the very beginning, with the Kenyan pair of Tom Nyariki of Kenya (1:01:22) and Ndereba (the record 1:09:43) leading home 10,294 finishers.
The presence of Ethiopia's amazing Gebresellasie - often considered the greatest distance runner of all time - in 2007 was a huge coup, and he repaid NYRR's confidence in his talents with the magnificent 59:24. Hilda Kibet of Kenya led the women (1:10:32) with, all told, 9,927 finishing.

It was Ndereba (1:10:19) back in the winner's circle in 2008, with Tola Tadesse of Ethiopia (1:00:58) leading the men, and 10,513 total finishing.
Tadese returned in 2009 and repeated as men's champion, winning (1:01:06) comfortably over Ridouane Harroufi of Morocco (1:02:32.) The celebrated Paula Radcliffe of Great Britain - history's fastest-ever woman over the full marathon distance - did some speed work in a 1:09:45 decision over Ethiopia's Mamitu Daska (1:11:04.)

As the talent at the front of the pack continues pouring on the pace, Wittenberg and NYRR keep pouring on the incentives. The race now offers a total purse of $100,000, with $20,000 winner's checks awaiting the men's and women's leaders, the heftiest fees for any 13.1-mile race held in the nation.
It's "the other side of the coin," though, that pleases Wittenberg just as much.
"We expect to raise over $2 million in support of 35 charities," she reports with pride.

Even with Gebreselassie in the field, he's certainly no lock.
Fellow Ethiopian star Gebre Gebremariam, Brazil's Gomes dos Santos, Ireland's Alistair Cragg, and top Americans Anthony Famiglietti and Josh Rohatinsky may pose threats.
In addition to USA's Kastor and Great Britain's Yamauchi, the women's pro field lists Mexico's Madai Perez and Japan's Kiyoko Shimahara.

When Gebreselassie's return to The Big Apple was announced six weeks ago, Wittenberg said "Haile is a superstar, a legendary champion, an ambassador for the sport, and we continue to be amazed by him.
"To have him back for the second time for the NYC Half-Marathon is a great thrill and a win for this quickly growing event."
Gebreselassie reciprocated: "I got such a warm welcome when I ran the NYC Half-Marathon in 2007. I'm sure it will (again) be a wonderful event."
A two-time Olympic 10,000-meter champion and 25-time world record-breaker, he can add to that portfolio of honors with another winning romp through the city.
When he set the world 13.1-mile record of 58:55 at Tempe, Arizona in 2006, it was one of the greatest performances ever run on Amarican soil.
That still ranks as the number three half-marathon mark of all-time, but the 13.1-mile charts are now headed by Sam Wanjiru's 58:33 for Kenya at The Hague, Netherlands, in 2007. Another Kenyan, Patrick Musyoki, moved into number two all-time with his 2009 58:52.

Given a break in the weather, and Gebreselassie's cntinuing top form - he won the Dubai Marathon Jan. 22 in 2:06:09 - there's every chance of a run in the 58's, and maybe even a shot at Wanjiru's world record.

Nobody's cheering more for that script to transpire than Mary Wittenberg.