SO..... Yesterday the New York City Marathon made the announcement that there would be no gear/bag check at the race taking place now in t-minus 71 days. The news was not well received by the runners and rightly so. If you haven't run NYC Marathon here is a little background. You get bused out to Staten Island at some ungodly hour and bide your time for up to 6 hours before the race actually starts. Do the math. Rather than hash out the obvious outrage the majority of runners had (myself included) here are 7 ways to make runners [at races] happy. Enjoy the humor and sarcasm ;) #1) Don't take away the givens. 

This should include but not limited to porta potties, bag/gear check, water & aid stations, race finisher medals, timing chip.  (Unless of course you are running an ultramarathon, the porta potty is a tree in the deep, dark forest with bears.)

#2) Make the course flat.

Because no one likes hills! Hills make people complain!

#3) Control the weather.

Not too hot, cold* and for sure no hint of precipitation. If a monsoon does happen all runners will be granted a personal best. Snow is an automatic reason to stay in bed.

*to each persons personal definition of cold

#4) PRA (Personal Runner Assistant).

Every race registration includes a personal assistant to tend to the runners every wish (cheer/cry/feed/prep ice bath/drag home).

#5) Include Twitter name on race bib.

Everyone wants their 5 minutes of fame, right?

#6) (Adult) beverage options.

Because some runners just want something other than H2O (although we beg to differ).

#7) Give them cupcakes.

Cupcakes always makes people happy. Always.


What would you add to the list (humor aside)? Share below!


Photo credit: Sheffield Tiger

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