THE START LINE
At the starting line of the Boston Marathon, the town of Hopkinton puts out a sign that appropriately reads, “It All Starts Here!”
If you look at the starting line area of most races (that don’t start and finish at the same place) and compare it to the finish line area, they usually don’t even come close in terms of physical set up, spectator interest, race management focus or just about anything. However, what happens at the start can set the tone for the entire day and for what happens along the course and even at the finish.
For most races, the start is the only place in your event where all the participants are assembled the exact same place at the exact same time. How you plan the start and how you follow your timeline is critical.
A few general tips for staging the start:
Front load: leave about 30-40 feet of space before the starting line to easily load either wheelchair athletes and/or elite athletes so that you don’t have to make announcements to thousands of runners to “please, take a few steps back.”
Back load and side load : leave gates or gaps in your barricades or fencing on both sides so as to load by pace and to be able to back load by mass.
Pace signs: the only way you can truly know exactly where to place pace signs (5 minute, 6 minute, etc.) is to know the breakdown in ability level of your entire field. Most don’t know this in advance so you need to estimate this. Of course, the faster the pace, the less space you need between “corrals”. They shouldn’t be placed equal distance from each other.
Equipment and signage: never skimp here. Once all the runners arrive, it will be your only hope for control. Having the appropriate amount of barricades, signs, banners, PA systems, etc., is so important in controlling the start.
Space: make sure you measure out enough space in the start area for all your participants – a rule of thumb would be to allocate 3 square feet per participant. Anything less will cause chaos around 10-minutes before the start of your race.
Audible countdown: don’t do an audible countdown like 10, 9, 8, 7, etc. You don’t want the field to anticipate the start and take off early just because you are near 2 or 1.
Control: the control of the start should always be in the hands of a key official (race director or operations director) on the road in front of the line watching and monitoring everything. This person is in communication with the officer in charge and with folks out on the course and is responsible for making sure the start area is clear before the gun fires.
Lead vehicle line up: make sure all vehicles are lined up far enough ahead of the start line where they don’t have to jam on the accelerator to keep from getting caught by the runners and thus possibly injuring someone in the vehicle. Also, line up the vehicle more to the sides of the roads at the beginning just in case any of the vehicles stall out and thus will not be in the way of the runners.
PA system: make sure you have a system that reaches everyone at the start, not just those up in the front. It must be heard by those in front of the line (management) and all the runners behind the start line.
Human chain: always best to use about 10-15 dependable volunteers to stand in front of the starting line holding back the runners (and performing numerous other duties). The race director would then instruct them to move to the side of the road with about 20 seconds to go before the start. This also adds a nice clean look to the start if all are dress in official race gear.
Although the start of a race may look simple, there is a lot more to it than meets the eye.