Wave Starts

(October 2008)
It started in Boston and now it is reaching the NYC Marathon: The Wave. It’s not quite like the “wave” in baseball or football stadiums. The basic wave start concept is to split the race field into two halves. The first half is the faster of the two halves. The second wave will typically start 30 minutes after the first wave. If you have run a marathon with a wave start, it’s no big deal given the commonplace use of the timing chips or RFID (radio frequency ID) timing devices. The one downside is the continued desire by some race directors to increase the field size of their marathons. Why? The simple answer is to satisfy the demand. Well, what would happen if you keep the race field capped and still incorporate the Wave start? Don’t you think your runners would be happier, medical personnel would be less stressed and sponsors still happy? It’s time to stop growing the already mega-sized marathons. The wave works> Just don’t let it be the reason to allow more runners to fill your crowded streets.