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A Boston sign of spring

Boston Marathon scaffolding going up

Mitchell watched the scaffolding above the Marathon finish line going up today.

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New York finishes in Central Park. Chicago—which I ran last year—could finish up MIchigan Ave, but instead turns in to Grant Park and finishes between half-empty stands. Yet in Boston … we put the finish line in the middle of a busy street, paint the start line on to the street, shovel the line when it is covered in snow, set up the scaffolding a week out, and then drive and bike through it all week long.

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Is a *$%&ing 50 degree day

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As someone who is running on Monday--I also wouldn't mind a few 50 degree days. But I mean, seeing the finish line go up is still kind of exciting. Saw it yesterday when I picked my boyfriend up from work. I don't know. People complain but people complain about everything. I think the marathon is pretty cool and the BAA certainly has done a lot for charities in the area, so no objection to organizations that help do good things in the community.

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I think there is some discombobulation happening because the banner, scaffolding, etc is going up when the temp is barely above freezing! Wishing you a (slightly) warmer day and good luck on Monday!

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I know that when it comes to people visiting the medical tents, the warmer days are more of a problem than the cooler days - easier to bundle up than to lose heat.

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Ha I also ran in 2012 so I know what it's like to run in the heat...but not looking forward to rain and 20-30mph winds currently forecasted. Hoping there is still good crowd support in the rain!

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I was driving down Albany Street in Cambridge a few days ago, past the MIT Police building.

What would it take to get that street renamed to Sean Collier Avenue?

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IMAGE(https://architecture.mit.edu/sites/architecture.mit.edu/files/styles/banner_image/public/bannerimages/project/collier41.jpg?itok=nFWjv9wt)
                                 ( Sean Collier Memorial )

Pictures or renderings don't do it justice. If you're in the neighborhood of Vassar and Main, stop by and visit Sean's memorial in person. The imbedded lighting makes it particularly beautiful after dark.

Albany Street is such a long established address for so many businesses, it would not be easy to change the name. Renaming streets somebody's "First-and-Last-Name Avenue" is sort of a modern trend, sometimes done for people who weren't all that special.

The memory of Officer Sean Collier is much more precious than that.

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All I have to do is say "No one ever Storrowed that" and she would be all like "We used the same catwalk in the military, my dear, and my big evolved cranium would obscure my view while I drove my eco-friendly military truck that I designed in grad school causing me to Storrow into those racist Halliburton catwalks".

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It's another to try some preemptive name calling to start something. Please stop.

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Would you mind terribly not letting an Anon through that calls me Gramps with no other merit to their post other than the insult?

Thanks!

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Forget one dose of seroquel and its a word salad fiesta!

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that the once proud event called the Boston Marathon has devolved into.

It's actually very sad if you think about it.

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Its journey from a long but simple road race to massive event that pumps millions into the local economy? Yup, pretty pathetic.

What was your time when you used to run it, anyway?

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event where the focus shifted from the majority of the average runners to a select group of people ( who go by the idiotic term "elite") that have been allowed to run their own race.

And when you factor in ALL the costs of running the race, including the cost of inconvenience for those just trying to get on with our day, I seriously doubt the local economy recoups enough money to justify the expenses.

And I'm curious. How is that we never hear anything about the top finishers in the various "non-elite (i.e. The AVERAGE people) classes?

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For a long period, it was in fact an elite race. You had to qualify to get in. One couldn't just show up and run it. The difference between, say, 1978 and 2018 is not that there is an elite field, it is twofold. First, the elite field is running for prize money. Second, there is a secondary field of people who did not qualify to get in, but are allowed to run after raising funds for charity.

But sure, let's just bring the race back to what it was in the 1950s, when Finns, Greeks, and Koreans were getting money under the table to run and the field was a couple of hundred folks. I mean, the various charities that get money through the second field could theoretically raise money other ways, and perhaps randomly thousands of people would visit the area for the Patriots Day celebrations, but I doubt it, meaning a lot of money that comes in now would be lost. Because there is someone griping about a race run on a state holiday.

And as to your question about why you don't hear about the person who comes in 1,000th place, yeah, that's the answer.

Do you shout at the kids playing in front of your house, too?

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So you want to kick out the elite (say, sub 2:30) runners and allow the other 29,000 to run then, right? Sounds good, but you do realize that the roads will be closed the same amount of time.

The one marathon I ran was far from elite. You paid your fee and showed up. They kept the course open (ie closed for cars) for 7 hours. Sounds like a plan.

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Last I checked, Patriots Day is a state holiday, which means you get the day off since you work for the DOT.

You could just stay in Reading.

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Boston has a big one, but try living near Mass Ave at ANY point.

Reenactments and parades and pancake breakfasts everywhere.

It isn't just the marathon route that gets closed off. Revere must ride!

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event where the focus shifted from the majority of the average runnersto a select group of people ( who go by the idiotic term "elite") that have been allowed to run their own race.

You must watch on the teevee where they just show the lead runners from the cameras on the truck. You might do yourself a favor and come and try to watch the race. The leaders flash by in a few seconds, but then everyone else comes by for hours. That's what people are really out cheering.

Also, the elite runners have always gotten to start up front. They're also faster than everyone else. So they're always going to be out front. And what is so idiotic about the term "elite"? The Google shows the definition of elite as a select part of a group that is superior to the rest in terms of ability or qualities. What about the fastest marathon runners in the world isn't elite? They have more ability to run fast (the whole point of a race) than anyone else. Not sure what's idiotic about the term. They're not running their own race. They're running the same course as everyone else. They're just better at it.

And when you factor in ALL the costs of running the race, including the cost of inconvenience for those just trying to get on with our day, I seriously doubt the local economy recoups enough money to justify the expenses.

Wait seriously? First of all, nearly every one of the 30,000 entries pays a $185 registration fee (more if you're from out of the country). That money goes towards detail cops, port-o-johns, busing, and the like. The BAA also gets huge sponsorship, probably several more millions of dollars to cover costs. They're not running the race on the public dime. (Have you ever run a marathon? Or a race of any sort?) Most big races cost about the same amount (Chicago, New York, etc) so it's probably the cost of doing business.

So the inconvenience of not being able to drive somewhere as quickly as you usually can? Yeah, that's probably a couple or three dollars! It must be super-inconvenient when you get on 128 in the morning, or the Pike, or really any road, and there's no traffic because it is a holiday. But we can't consider those positive externalities.

Let's also not consider other money it brings in. Only about 4000 of the runners are actually from Massachusetts, so most of the others are coming in to town and staying in local hotels. Most hotels are charging >$300/night, so that's $43 per night in taxes, times, say, 20,000 rooms, times an average of three nights. There's another $2.5 million (well, not all of it, but I doubt the local hoteliers would fill all their rooms for $300+ on a random weekend in April). They'll also eat food at restaurants, go to museums or tourist attractions, and otherwise spend money in the local economy.

Or you could google "Boston Marathon Economic Impact" and find a breakdown of the numbers. There's some to quibble with (not all of this would be forgone if we just had normal visitor rates this weekend) but a lot would.

So, $200m, and let's say there are 1 million people whose daily routine is adversely impacted (it's probably way, way less, especially with schools and the state closed). That's still $200 per person. Not a bad deal to, say, have to drive a couple miles out of your way.

And I'm curious. How is that we never hear anything about the top finishers in the various "non-elite (i.e. The AVERAGE people) classes?

Okay, first of all, define AVERAGE. 80% of the Boston Marathon field is well above average, having to run a marathon in a qualifying time (minus a few minutes). The only others get some guaranteed entries through sponsors, cities and towns, and charities. But most everyone in the Boston field has already done quite well in a marathon somewhere else. That's kind of what makes Boston Boston. There's no lottery to get in. Except for people in wave 4 (yellow bibs) everyone is above average. And what do you define as the non-elite classes? Masters? The top masters runner is still pretty good. Came 6th overall last year. 2:12. RW was on it. What do you want? The top finisher in a ridiculous costume? The top finisher with a beer gut? The top man and woman to kiss at least 10 of the ladies at Wellesley? There's no definition of "non-elite (The AVERAGE people) classes."

Also, I'm one of those AVERAGE people. Barely sub-3 last spring to qualify, shooting for sub-3 again. Starting 4000 people behind the elites. And you do hear about us! Every year the Globe runs a section full of stories, and when we fuck up and almost die, we get to be on the front page. (I'm not going to try that again.) But really, here's the Globe's marathon page, and a majority of the stories are about non-elites. Maybe you could check it out instead of whining about a road being closed.

Frankly, if you don't like the marathon, move somewhere else.

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WAHHHH! I won't be able do drive where I want that day! I wanna drive to work on my day off!

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From starting line to finish, there are crossings a route 9, route 128, the Mass Pike, and Mass Ave.

A few years back we hopped in the family auto at 11 AM and drove from Rozzie to Bedford and back again.

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