Marathon Time Limit Question?

In article said:

Looking at the 2004 Houston Marathon:

http://www.hphoustonmarathon.com/marathon-details.php?look=marathon

I see there is a 6 hour time limit but when I look in results from last year
I see many times over 6 hours. What is the difference between making the
cutoff time or not?

Check with the organizers for details. Generally, paces slower
than the cutoff cannot expect the full service of the race, including,
say, having the roads closed and aid station support. At some
point the organizers have to let the volunteers go home, and the
city wants to have its traffic flow back.

--
Robert Grumbine http://www.radix.net/~bobg/ Science faqs and amateur activities notes and links.
Sagredo (Galileo Galilei) "You present these recondite matters with too much
evidence and ease; this great facility makes them less appreciated than they
would be had they been presented in a more abstruse manner." Two New Sciences

The difference is whether or not you're going to take any dignity home
with you, or just leave it there in the road, with your pride and self
esteem.

In article <[email hidden]>,

(Robert Grumbine) said:

In article said:

Looking at the 2004 Houston Marathon:

http://www.hphoustonmarathon.com/marathon-details.php?look=marathon

I see there is a 6 hour time limit but when I look in results from last year
I see many times over 6 hours. What is the difference between making the
cutoff time or not?

Check with the organizers for details. Generally, paces slower
than the cutoff cannot expect the full service of the race, including,
say, having the roads closed and aid station support. At some
point the organizers have to let the volunteers go home, and the
city wants to have its traffic flow back.

Also, you may not get a finisher's medal.

--Harold Buck

"I used to rock and roll all night,
and party every day.
Then it was every other day. . . ."
-Homer J. Simpson

[email hidden] (Miss Anne Thrope) wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

The difference is whether or not you're going to take any dignity home
with you, or just leave it there in the road, with your pride and self
esteem.

What's wrong with you tonight? These are RUNNERS we're talking about,
the same people who [censored] in their pants at a shaken fist, they have no
dignity or ego to start with.

I hate to say this, but 6 hours is practically walking pace. That's 13:45
min miles, and most normal-weight people can walk 15:00 min miles without
'racewalking'. If one ran 10k of the marathon at 9:30/mile then walked the
rest at 15:00/mile, they would finish in just under 6 hours. There are
other combinations. Even if a person can't manage 9:30/mile for 10k, there
are plenty of combinations to get under 6 hours.

If a person isn't trained, they should plan to walk most of the way and run
just enough of it to get their finisher's medal if that's their goal.
Jogging very slow is far less efficient than walking. When I walk
15:00/mile my HR is about 90-95, whereas any jog, no matter how slow will
raise it to 120+. IMO its stupid that people think they have to "run"
because it's a running race when walking most of it makes more sense.

- Tony

In article <beRbd.15$EL5.4@trndny09>,

Tony' qtrader2@(remove)hotmail.com said:

I hate to say this, but 6 hours is practically walking pace. That's 13:45
min miles, and most normal-weight people can walk 15:00 min miles without
'racewalking'. If one ran 10k of the marathon at 9:30/mile then walked the
rest at 15:00/mile, they would finish in just under 6 hours. There are
other combinations. Even if a person can't manage 9:30/mile for 10k, there
are plenty of combinations to get under 6 hours.

If a person isn't trained, they should plan to walk most of the way and run
just enough of it to get their finisher's medal if that's their goal.
Jogging very slow is far less efficient than walking. When I walk
15:00/mile my HR is about 90-95, whereas any jog, no matter how slow will
raise it to 120+. IMO its stupid that people think they have to "run"
because it's a running race when walking most of it makes more sense.

FWIW, many Marathons are now courting the walkers since it gives them a
chance to make a lot of extra cash and/or it makes organizine the
Marathon possible. There was an article about it in Runner's World or
Running Times recently (past 6 months).

A lot of runners hate the walkers, but they appear to be here to stay,
along with 6-, 7-, and 8-hour cutoffs.

I have no problem with walkers--I'd rather have people doing that than
sitting in front of the TV getting fatter--but there were stories about
walkers who lined up near the front and claimed that they paid the same
entry fee and could go where ever they wanted to. Serious runners had to
fight to go around them, and that's not right.

This is not a walking issue so much as a courtesy issue--it's just as
wrong for a slow runner to line up near the front. But I think that if
this sort of thing continues then it may make sense to have a separate
wave start for the walkers.

--Harold Buck

"I used to rock and roll all night,
and party every day.
Then it was every other day. . . ."
-Homer J. Simpson

Harold Buck wrote in message ...

Quoted message said:

In article <beRbd.15$EL5.4@trndny09>,

Tony' qtrader2@(remove)hotmail.com said:

I hate to say this, but 6 hours is practically walking pace. That's

13:45

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

min miles, and most normal-weight people can walk 15:00 min miles without
'racewalking'. If one ran 10k of the marathon at 9:30/mile then walked

the

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

rest at 15:00/mile, they would finish in just under 6 hours. There are
other combinations. Even if a person can't manage 9:30/mile for 10k,

there

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

are plenty of combinations to get under 6 hours.

If a person isn't trained, they should plan to walk most of the way and

run

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

just enough of it to get their finisher's medal if that's their goal.
Jogging very slow is far less efficient than walking. When I walk
15:00/mile my HR is about 90-95, whereas any jog, no matter how slow will
raise it to 120+. IMO its stupid that people think they have to "run"
because it's a running race when walking most of it makes more sense.

FWIW, many Marathons are now courting the walkers since it gives them a
chance to make a lot of extra cash and/or it makes organizine the
Marathon possible. There was an article about it in Runner's World or
Running Times recently (past 6 months).

A lot of runners hate the walkers, but they appear to be here to stay,
along with 6-, 7-, and 8-hour cutoffs.

I have no problem with walkers--I'd rather have people doing that than
sitting in front of the TV getting fatter--but there were stories about
walkers who lined up near the front and claimed that they paid the same
entry fee and could go where ever they wanted to. Serious runners had to
fight to go around them, and that's not right.

This is not a walking issue so much as a courtesy issue--it's just as
wrong for a slow runner to line up near the front. But I think that if
this sort of thing continues then it may make sense to have a separate
wave start for the walkers.

I agree with you; it's not right that walkers interfere with the runners.
lol one solution could be to sort all the people by weight, with the
lightest people being able to start up front 🙂 I agree it's great to get
people out there and active. Another way would be to ask of previous races
in the application, and race times. Then have 2 starts, with anyone never
having raced before starting 10 mins after the others, whether they plan to
run or not. The first group would be asked to line up at various points
according to their race times, which could be somehow incorporated into the
race bib number.

- Tony

Twin Cities has a 6 hour cutoff, but they let it go a bit longer, I
think partly to be nice, and partly to accommodate those who started
at the back of the pack and didn't get to the start line until 10
minutes after the gun.

Brian Jones

"Les <Slow Foot> Stewart" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Looking at the 2004 Houston Marathon:

http://www.hphoustonmarathon.com/marathon-details.php?look=marathon

I see there is a 6 hour time limit but when I look in results from last year
I see many times over 6 hours. What is the difference between making the
cutoff time or not?

THANKS!

Les Stewart said:

Looking at the 2004 Houston Marathon:

http://www.hphoustonmarathon.com/marathon-details.php?look=marathon

I see there is a 6 hour time limit but when I look in results from last year
I see many times over 6 hours. What is the difference between making the
cutoff time or not?

THANKS!
--
Les Stewart
Beaumont, TX

Vancouver International Marathon has two start times - 6:30am for walkers & any
runners who do not think that they will finish within 6 hours, and then 7:30am
for the main event. There is a motorcycle escort at the front of the fast
runners and this clears the walkers/slow runners off to the side so there is a
clear path. If a runner starts early and takes less than 6 hours, then they can
be disqualified.... susan

A number of marathons will have the walkers start an hour to two hours
earlier. Often they have a different color bib number which means they
will finish in a time over 4 or 5 hours. I believe those starting at
the regular time have no time restrictions.

This has been helpful as the walkers finish an hour or two earlier than
the regular start which means the course can close sooner.

The walkers starting earlier are not as effected by doing their last
miles through the heat of a midday should the weather be hot.

The walkers are spread out over the course and the runners won't catch
them for well over an hour or two.

The time limit question is more an issue for the city where the
marathon is held. In 1998 when the Rock and Roll Marathon was
inaugurated in San Diego, there was not a cut off time. The Psyching
Team was there from 90 minutes before the start and at 20 miles well
after 2 PM watching some of the walkers going by with 6 more miles to
go. The race started 37 minutes late so I believe it was a 7:37 start.

I had heard that there were people finishing in 9 to 10 hours and some
even longer. The problems caused to the city by keeping the streets
closed for so long were huge. There was a Padres baseball game, and
also I believe that it was also father's day.

What the City and Elite Racing came up with the second year and I
believe that other cities have done similarly was that if someone
didn't reach the half way point by 3:45 they were shunted off and
completed a half marathon. Cut off times are now somewhere between 6
and 8 hours.

In the 70's at the Mission Bay Marathon which became knows as the San
Diego Marathon, the official cut off time was: 4:15. You could finish
over 4;15 but the finish line would have been taken down.

My first marathon was around 5 hours, and the cheers when I crosses the
finish line weren't for me, rather for the award winners' ceremony
about a block away.

In health and on the run,
Ozzie Gontang
Director, San Diego Marathon Clinic, est. 1975
Maintainer - rec.running FAQ
http://www.faqs.org/faqs/running-faq/
Mindful Running:
http://www.mindfulness.com/mr.asp

In article
<[email hidden]>, Harold

Buck said:

In article <beRbd.15$EL5.4@trndny09>,

Tony' qtrader2@(remove)hotmail.com said:

I hate to say this, but 6 hours is practically walking pace. That's 13:45
min miles, and most normal-weight people can walk 15:00 min miles without
'racewalking'. If one ran 10k of the marathon at 9:30/mile then walked the
rest at 15:00/mile, they would finish in just under 6 hours. There are
other combinations. Even if a person can't manage 9:30/mile for 10k, there
are plenty of combinations to get under 6 hours.

If a person isn't trained, they should plan to walk most of the way and run
just enough of it to get their finisher's medal if that's their goal.
Jogging very slow is far less efficient than walking. When I walk
15:00/mile my HR is about 90-95, whereas any jog, no matter how slow will
raise it to 120+. IMO its stupid that people think they have to "run"
because it's a running race when walking most of it makes more sense.

FWIW, many Marathons are now courting the walkers since it gives them a
chance to make a lot of extra cash and/or it makes organizine the
Marathon possible. There was an article about it in Runner's World or
Running Times recently (past 6 months).

A lot of runners hate the walkers, but they appear to be here to stay,
along with 6-, 7-, and 8-hour cutoffs.

I have no problem with walkers--I'd rather have people doing that than
sitting in front of the TV getting fatter--but there were stories about
walkers who lined up near the front and claimed that they paid the same
entry fee and could go where ever they wanted to. Serious runners had to
fight to go around them, and that's not right.

This is not a walking issue so much as a courtesy issue--it's just as
wrong for a slow runner to line up near the front. But I think that if
this sort of thing continues then it may make sense to have a separate
wave start for the walkers.

--Harold Buck

"I used to rock and roll all night,
and party every day.
Then it was every other day. . . ."
-Homer J. Simpson

x-no-archive: yes

Tony said:

I agree with you; it's not right that walkers interfere with the runners.
lol one solution could be to sort all the people by weight, with the
lightest people being able to start up front 🙂

Were you fat as a kid? You seem to have an obsession with weight.

"Ozzie Gontang" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

What the City and Elite Racing came up with the second year and I
believe that other cities have done similarly was that if someone
didn't reach the half way point by 3:45 they were shunted off and
completed a half marathon. Cut off times are now somewhere between 6
and 8 hours.

I seem to remember reading about a marathon that opened the streets after a
certain time, but kept the finish area open longer. Those slower runners
just had to stop for red lights, obey traffic regs, etc., but they weren't
pulled off the (public) street. But some races are on roads that don't have
pedestrian ways, so such a system wouldn't work then.
bj

"susan" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Vancouver International Marathon has two start times - 6:30am for walkers
& any
runners who do not think that they will finish within 6 hours, and then
7:30am
for the main event. There is a motorcycle escort at the front of the fast
runners and this clears the walkers/slow runners off to the side so there
is a
clear path. If a runner starts early and takes less than 6 hours, then
they can
be disqualified.... susan

What if you start at the regular time & then take longer than 6 hours?
I would think that anyone thinking they'll be close to/not much over 6 hrs
wouldn't go the early start, for fear of a DQ if they have a "good day".
bj

bj said:

"susan" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

If a runner starts early and takes less than 6 hours, then
they can be disqualified.... susan

What if you start at the regular time & then take longer than 6 hours?
I would think that anyone thinking they'll be close to/not much over 6 hrs
wouldn't go the early start, for fear of a DQ if they have a "good day".

I've read the brochure carefully since I hope to run Vancouver in
the spring. As I understand it:

- slow runners (and walkers) have to move to sidewalks and aid
stations will be closed, but the finish line will remain open
until the last person crosses the finish line. I'm not sure how
they determine if someone is still on the course.

- 6+ runners are encouraged to leave early, but not required to.

- somebody who leaves early but finishes in under 6 hours may be
DQ, but it looks like it's handled on a case-by-case basis.
Finishing in 5:30 probably wouldn't be a problem. Finishing in
4:00 probably would be. But then again they ask for your PR and
number of prior marathons and a novice may get more slack.

In article <uI_bd.125$EP4.84@trnddc06>,

bj said:

If a runner starts early and takes less than 6 hours, then

Quoted message said:

they can
be disqualified.... susan

What if you start at the regular time & then take longer than 6 hours?
I would think that anyone thinking they'll be close to/not much over 6 hrs
wouldn't go the early start, for fear of a DQ if they have a "good day".
bj

Yeah, it seems like a more reasonable thing would be to DQ you if you
take the early start and finish under, say, 5:30. That way you can
account for having a good day. Although I guess if you were going to
finish in 5:55 you could just goof off by the finish line for 5 minutes.

OTOH, if you're running a 6-hour Marathon, what does it matter if they
DQ you? You know what time you ran. I guess if you want that medal it
might make a difference.

--Harold Buck

"I used to rock and roll all night,
and party every day.
Then it was every other day. . . ."
-Homer J. Simpson

In article <[email hidden]>,

(Brian Jones) said:

Twin Cities has a 6 hour cutoff, but they let it go a bit longer, I
think partly to be nice, and partly to accommodate those who started
at the back of the pack and didn't get to the start line until 10
minutes after the gun.

The Indy 500 Festival "Mini Marathon" (half-marathon) starts the clock
after the last of the 30,000 has started the race. If you aren't keeping
up with a certain generous walking pace (18 min/mile IIRC), they force
you to quit the race. I think they have a bus that follows along at that
pace and collects people.

--Harold Buck

"I used to rock and roll all night,
and party every day.
Then it was every other day. . . ."
-Homer J. Simpson

bj said:

"susan" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Vancouver International Marathon has two start times - 6:30am for walkers
& any
runners who do not think that they will finish within 6 hours, and then
7:30am
for the main event. There is a motorcycle escort at the front of the fast
runners and this clears the walkers/slow runners off to the side so there
is a
clear path. If a runner starts early and takes less than 6 hours, then
they can
be disqualified.... susan

What if you start at the regular time & then take longer than 6 hours?
I would think that anyone thinking they'll be close to/not much over 6 hrs
wouldn't go the early start, for fear of a DQ if they have a "good day".
bj

The course (and finish line) remain open, but the support stations start to
shut down somewhat and the roads are no longer totally closed to traffic. In
this last marathon, May 2004, there were ~200 finishers over 6 hours, and of
these ~50 were over 7 hours. The 1 hour early start for walkers/slowers is to
try and get as many off the course at the earliest. 'Don't start with the
walkers if you don't need to' is the gist of their wording on the early start;
and I'm assuming it's meant to discourage faster runners from taking
advantage... susan

susan <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Vancouver International Marathon has two start times - 6:30am for walkers & any
runners who do not think that they will finish within 6 hours, and then 7:30am
for the main event. There is a motorcycle escort at the front of the fast
runners and this clears the walkers/slow runners off to the side so there is a
clear path. If a runner starts early and takes less than 6 hours, then they can
be disqualified.... susan

How big are they susan?

Quoted message said:

I seem to remember reading about a marathon that opened the streets after a
certain time, but kept the finish area open longer. Those slower runners
just had to stop for red lights, obey traffic regs, etc., but they weren't
pulled off the (public) street.

The NYC Marathon does that. I supported a friend who walked it last
year, and she went slower than she expected (insufficiently trained
because of illness, then some GI problems on race day). Eventually she
had to take to the sidewalks so the cleanup crews could get the
streets ready to reopen; she never had to deal with actual traffic, as
it turned out. The finish line was still open when she got there after
about 8 hours.

--
Brian P. Baresch
Fort Worth, Texas, USA
Professional editing and proofreading

If you're going through hell, keep going. --Winston Churchill