FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Larger Fields for 2005 Twin Cities Marathon and TC10
This October, the Twin Cities will welcome an additional 1,000 runners
during "The Most Beautiful Urban Marathon in America™," thanks to a new
increased field limit. There will be an additional 500 spots per race,
bringing the total field size to 10,500 for the 26.2-mile Twin Cities
Marathon and 4,500 for the TC 10 Mile Race.
"We're delighted to make this opportunity available to runners across the
country," says TCM Executive Director Virginia Brophy Achman. "We've been
working for a long time to make this happen."
Adding spaces for more participants isn't as easy as it sounds. TCM has
worked with the Minneapolis Park Board for more than five years to make
this happen.
"The first step was implementing a wave start in 2003, which helped manage
congestion through the early phases of the course," says Brophy Achman.
This is critical for two reasons. One, the permits granted by Minneapolis
have a four-hour limit. "The moment those four hours are up, the streets
have to be reopened, which means TCM has to have every runner through,
every aid station dismantled and every water cup picked up," Brophy Achman
describes. "The wave start has been successful and now the Park Board is
ready to support our next step: increasing the field size."
Second, and most importantly, keeping congestion down keeps participants
safer. The roads on the St. Paul side are wider so congestion isn't as much
of an issue; however, TCM wants to maintain the quality of the race for
every participant.
"We'll never be able to put 30 or 40,000 runners on our course," says Brian
Mastel, TCM's Race Operations Manager, "but the 16,000 that run our races
will have a great experience."
Brophy Achman makes it clear that the volunteers on the race operations
committee deserve much of the credit for overseeing the course activities
on race day.
Mastel agrees. "We want to be clear about the reason for the field
increase," he says. "It's entirely due to the fact that we've been able to
successfully manage the flow of participants, especially along the parkways
and city streets. This will mean more work for our race ops and medical
committees, but also for volunteers in other areas like merchandise, packet
pickup, and more. But we're ready for those additional 1,000 people!"
Maybe that's one reason why Runner's World called TCM the most organized
road race.
So who will fill those extra 1,000 spots? Megan Ryan, TCM's Marketing
Director, says, "We are expanding our marketing efforts to runners outside
the Midwest - specifically the West Coast, Northeast and South. We are
proud of our event and want to share it with runners everywhere."
But don't worry: there will be plenty of spots for area runners. In fact,
marathon entry is guaranteed for those who attend the Marathon Registration
Kick Off event on Thursday, April 28. Mark your calendars now and be at the
start line of the 24th Twin Cities Marathon - host of the USA Open and
Masters Championships - on October 2!
For more information, visit the race website at: www.twincitiesmarathon.org
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