1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:03,840 You're listening to episode 263 of the Marathon Running Podcast. 2 00:00:04,080 --> 00:00:07,440 In this episode, we're going to get a behind the scene insight 3 00:00:07,440 --> 00:00:11,480 of what happens after the Boston Marathon winds down. 4 00:00:12,560 --> 00:00:15,520 This is the Marathon Running Podcast with Letty and Ryan. 5 00:00:16,480 --> 00:00:19,240 Join us for weekly content on all things running and let us 6 00:00:19,240 --> 00:00:22,920 take you from the starting line to the finish line and beyond. 7 00:00:30,600 --> 00:00:34,040 Hey runners, and welcome to episode 263. 8 00:00:34,040 --> 00:00:35,960 My name is Letty. My name is Ryan. 9 00:00:36,240 --> 00:00:38,720 And we are back on here it is Friday night. 10 00:00:38,760 --> 00:00:41,280 We always record on Friday nights for the next week. 11 00:00:41,480 --> 00:00:43,560 And we're going to talk about something really cool that we 12 00:00:43,560 --> 00:00:47,600 haven't talked about yet, which is we are talking to somebody 13 00:00:47,600 --> 00:00:51,360 from the BAA, from the Boston Athletics Association about what 14 00:00:51,360 --> 00:00:54,480 happens behind the scenes, what happens after the marathon winds 15 00:00:54,480 --> 00:00:56,800 down. We all forget about it, but what 16 00:00:56,800 --> 00:01:01,080 happens then with the race? A lot of cups cleaning up. 17 00:01:01,080 --> 00:01:04,400 That is very true, but that actually happens on race day, 18 00:01:04,400 --> 00:01:05,239 right? Yeah. 19 00:01:05,360 --> 00:01:07,720 Well, that's interesting. I guess something different. 20 00:01:07,760 --> 00:01:10,000 Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, I think it's on the 21 00:01:10,000 --> 00:01:13,520 surface it seems simple to just have a race run, but there's a 22 00:01:13,520 --> 00:01:17,480 lot of logistics and things that go on into it that, you know, 23 00:01:17,480 --> 00:01:20,440 probably justify some of the costs more than we think. 24 00:01:20,680 --> 00:01:22,920 Yeah, it's not just paying all the cities. 25 00:01:22,920 --> 00:01:25,720 I mean, it goes through 8, seven or eight cities that you have to 26 00:01:25,720 --> 00:01:30,680 pay and get licenses from or permits from to be running 27 00:01:30,680 --> 00:01:33,200 through their Rd. having them close down the road. 28 00:01:33,400 --> 00:01:36,800 All the local law enforcement. Imagine everything that happened 29 00:01:36,800 --> 00:01:42,200 after the Boston bombing and the security of having cops be there 30 00:01:42,200 --> 00:01:44,360 to check backpacks around the finish line areas. 31 00:01:44,360 --> 00:01:48,480 There's so much involved that happens beforehand, but then you 32 00:01:48,480 --> 00:01:52,080 know it's beforehand but it's also afterwards when you ramp up 33 00:01:52,080 --> 00:01:54,400 for the next race. Yeah, Who did you end up talking 34 00:01:54,400 --> 00:01:56,360 to So. I ended up talking to Mary Kay 35 00:01:56,360 --> 00:02:00,000 Shea from the Boston Athletics Association, who's in charge of 36 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:04,880 a lot of the communication between the BA and US outsiders. 37 00:02:04,880 --> 00:02:07,080 So how'd that come about? Well, we always talk about 38 00:02:07,080 --> 00:02:10,400 everything leading up to race day and I have been lucky over 39 00:02:10,400 --> 00:02:14,760 the last couple years to witness a lot of that, what's going on 40 00:02:14,760 --> 00:02:17,920 and how things are built. And then normally same with the 41 00:02:17,920 --> 00:02:19,960 LA Marathon. And then normally it almost 42 00:02:19,960 --> 00:02:24,160 feels like everything winds down very quickly for us runners. 43 00:02:24,360 --> 00:02:27,000 Basically, it stops after we are done with a race, after the 44 00:02:27,000 --> 00:02:30,520 elites finish and we have the news out there, right, Who won 45 00:02:30,720 --> 00:02:33,080 and how fast they ran. And then we just kind of forget 46 00:02:33,080 --> 00:02:35,440 about it and we don't really look at what happens behind the 47 00:02:35,440 --> 00:02:38,800 scenes and how much work is still involved, not just by the 48 00:02:38,800 --> 00:02:42,200 BAA, but also by many of the volunteers, What goes on 49 00:02:42,200 --> 00:02:45,000 afterwards? And then also when does it pick 50 00:02:45,000 --> 00:02:47,440 up again, right. Because obviously planning an 51 00:02:47,440 --> 00:02:50,360 event like the Boston Marathon doesn't just take a month or 52 00:02:50,360 --> 00:02:52,440 two. It's basically a job that people 53 00:02:52,440 --> 00:02:53,720 have all year long. A. 54 00:02:53,720 --> 00:02:55,400 Lot of work behind the scenes, yeah. 55 00:02:55,440 --> 00:02:57,720 So you want to get into it? Sure. 56 00:02:57,720 --> 00:03:00,040 So without any further ado, we're now going to have our 57 00:03:00,040 --> 00:03:05,960 conversation with Mary Kay. All right, so I'm on here with 58 00:03:05,960 --> 00:03:09,840 MK Shea from the Boston Athletics Association. 59 00:03:10,040 --> 00:03:12,200 MK thank you so much for joining us today. 60 00:03:12,840 --> 00:03:16,680 Thanks for asking me Letty. Yes, I'm very excited because as 61 00:03:16,680 --> 00:03:19,560 you and I just talked off air, there's so much that goes into a 62 00:03:19,560 --> 00:03:22,320 marathon and usually it ends for us runners once we cross the 63 00:03:22,320 --> 00:03:24,720 finish line. So we wanted to just kind of 64 00:03:24,720 --> 00:03:27,800 talk about the fun stuff that you guys have to deal with. 65 00:03:28,200 --> 00:03:31,680 But before we start that, maybe we can take a little deep dive 66 00:03:31,680 --> 00:03:34,640 into who you are and how you get involved with the BAA. 67 00:03:36,400 --> 00:03:40,200 Sure. So I started being involved with 68 00:03:40,200 --> 00:03:45,280 the Boston Marathon about 27 years ago, So I've been here for 69 00:03:45,280 --> 00:03:48,040 quite a while. I started working with John 70 00:03:48,040 --> 00:03:51,760 Hancock, who at the time was the principal sponsor, and they were 71 00:03:51,760 --> 00:03:54,960 also the managers of the professional fields. 72 00:03:55,600 --> 00:04:00,080 So my job was primarily to research and write about the 73 00:04:00,080 --> 00:04:02,360 pros who were invited to come to Boston. 74 00:04:02,800 --> 00:04:07,800 And then as the years progressed, ultimately moved 75 00:04:07,800 --> 00:04:11,840 over to the Boston Athletic Association and continuing to 76 00:04:11,840 --> 00:04:16,040 work with the professional feels, but not just not only the 77 00:04:16,040 --> 00:04:19,680 open runners, the open professionals, but the pro 78 00:04:19,680 --> 00:04:22,720 wheelchair racers and the pro para racers. 79 00:04:23,080 --> 00:04:28,080 And then also recruiting for every race event that the BAA 80 00:04:28,080 --> 00:04:31,720 has, which includes the marathon, the 5K, the 81 00:04:31,720 --> 00:04:35,080 professional mile, our 10K and our half marathon. 82 00:04:36,640 --> 00:04:39,880 Sounds like a dream job. I think so. 83 00:04:41,320 --> 00:04:43,200 I was being sarcastic. I think that's super 84 00:04:43,200 --> 00:04:47,040 interesting. So you are involved in that and 85 00:04:47,040 --> 00:04:48,480 everything else. I saw you at the press 86 00:04:48,480 --> 00:04:50,280 conference and you are running around. 87 00:04:50,280 --> 00:04:54,240 You are busy. So given that for us runners, 88 00:04:54,240 --> 00:04:57,200 everything ends once we cross the finish line, maybe you can 89 00:04:57,200 --> 00:05:00,160 tell us about the immediate atmosphere that the BA 90 00:05:00,160 --> 00:05:05,480 experiences after that last person crosses the finish line. 91 00:05:06,320 --> 00:05:09,280 Well, the final finisher, that is a celebration in and of 92 00:05:09,280 --> 00:05:13,080 itself because it is quite an accomplishment for any runner to 93 00:05:13,280 --> 00:05:15,840 make it to the starting line at the Boston Marathon. 94 00:05:15,840 --> 00:05:19,840 So we love that final finisher and it's very celebratory. 95 00:05:20,560 --> 00:05:24,720 We take the professional athletes, they cross the finish 96 00:05:24,720 --> 00:05:29,120 line, they go through the medical tent into massage and 97 00:05:29,120 --> 00:05:32,000 recovery. So we have about 120 open 98 00:05:32,000 --> 00:05:34,440 athletes. We have about 50 to 60 99 00:05:34,440 --> 00:05:39,040 wheelchair athletes and we have about 12 paraprofessionals. 100 00:05:39,040 --> 00:05:41,840 We have a larger para and adaptive field, but those are 101 00:05:41,840 --> 00:05:44,560 the professionals. So they'll go back to the race 102 00:05:44,560 --> 00:05:49,240 hotel, get a little TLC, have some lunch and then they'll go 103 00:05:49,240 --> 00:05:52,760 to the media room, which you were very active in Letty this 104 00:05:52,760 --> 00:05:55,680 year, and they'll answer some media questions. 105 00:05:56,160 --> 00:05:59,800 After that time, everyone's invited to a nice post race 106 00:05:59,800 --> 00:06:03,240 party, so all of the professional athletes go to a 107 00:06:03,240 --> 00:06:07,960 party which is near Fan Fest. We also take the Champions to 108 00:06:07,960 --> 00:06:11,400 Fan Fest, which is open to all participants and they have a 109 00:06:11,400 --> 00:06:15,000 little meet and greet and some additional celebration. 110 00:06:15,440 --> 00:06:19,720 So all of that happens and then people ultimately make their way 111 00:06:19,720 --> 00:06:23,040 back to the hotel to get a little rest and then our 112 00:06:23,040 --> 00:06:26,720 champions and notable athletes. The next morning we have another 113 00:06:26,720 --> 00:06:30,840 press conference and they're taken to The View, which is a 114 00:06:30,840 --> 00:06:36,120 high, very high building in Boston where they get more media 115 00:06:36,120 --> 00:06:40,120 attention. And then really on Tuesday, it's 116 00:06:40,120 --> 00:06:43,520 all about getting our international athletes back to 117 00:06:43,520 --> 00:06:46,840 their home country. So it's a very busy travel day 118 00:06:46,840 --> 00:06:51,440 for all of our open athletes and a lot of our wheelchair athletes 119 00:06:51,440 --> 00:06:54,800 make their way over to the London Marathon at where they 120 00:06:54,800 --> 00:06:58,440 participate as well. So it's very busy for the BAA 121 00:06:59,360 --> 00:07:04,360 and operations is closing down the race course. 122 00:07:04,360 --> 00:07:09,040 Internal operations is tidying up and adjudicating results. 123 00:07:09,480 --> 00:07:13,400 The comms group is doing some post race reporting. 124 00:07:13,680 --> 00:07:17,320 Our marketing team is having a wonderful get together for all 125 00:07:17,320 --> 00:07:22,120 the sponsors. So it doesn't stop on Marathon 126 00:07:22,120 --> 00:07:26,760 Monday, it continues well into that week in April. 127 00:07:27,600 --> 00:07:31,840 And at the same time, as soon as that final finisher crosses the 128 00:07:31,840 --> 00:07:36,440 line, we're already have in the works who we want to invite for 129 00:07:36,440 --> 00:07:39,960 2026 and how that race is going to look. 130 00:07:39,960 --> 00:07:47,040 So it's really Evergreen letty. There's really no time to rest 131 00:07:47,040 --> 00:07:51,240 and relax because we always want to be an industry leader, we 132 00:07:51,240 --> 00:07:54,440 always want to have a world class sporting event, so the 133 00:07:54,440 --> 00:07:56,520 wheels are always turning for everybody involved. 134 00:07:56,520 --> 00:08:00,080 There's about 40 people at the Boston Athletic Association, so 135 00:08:00,080 --> 00:08:03,680 it's a very small team, but it is an amazing team. 136 00:08:03,680 --> 00:08:06,160 Everyone's so passionate about their areas. 137 00:08:07,160 --> 00:08:09,760 I've noticed that and just because you were just mentioning 138 00:08:09,760 --> 00:08:12,560 that, shout out to Marcel Hoog and Catherine Debruner. 139 00:08:12,560 --> 00:08:16,200 I went on to the London Marathon myself as well, and there they 140 00:08:16,200 --> 00:08:17,800 were. And I'm friends with Marcel 141 00:08:17,800 --> 00:08:22,840 Hoog, so it was just amazing to talk to him and see how fast 142 00:08:22,840 --> 00:08:27,200 they have to recover in their wheelchairs to do it again. 143 00:08:27,200 --> 00:08:30,640 And here he is, you know, winning eight times in in Boston 144 00:08:30,640 --> 00:08:32,120 and then the fifth time in London. 145 00:08:32,120 --> 00:08:34,400 So they're they're just amazing people. 146 00:08:34,840 --> 00:08:37,720 Yes, absolutely amazing. The wheelchair group is 147 00:08:37,799 --> 00:08:41,000 phenomenal. We celebrated the 50th year of 148 00:08:41,000 --> 00:08:44,920 wheelchair racing in Boston this year, which is a true milestone. 149 00:08:45,240 --> 00:08:48,440 We were the first marathon in the world to offer wheelchair 150 00:08:48,440 --> 00:08:53,200 racing and it was just a very nice celebration this year to 151 00:08:53,200 --> 00:08:58,920 have some of our Bob Hall, who was our original racer, return 152 00:08:58,920 --> 00:09:01,520 to chat with everybody. That's amazing. 153 00:09:01,520 --> 00:09:03,880 Yes, yes, we saw him there. OK. 154 00:09:03,880 --> 00:09:07,040 So I want to touch a little bit on the involvement of people. 155 00:09:07,040 --> 00:09:08,960 You mentioned you guys are about 40 people at the BA. 156 00:09:09,040 --> 00:09:11,800 How many volunteers did you guys have this year? 157 00:09:12,360 --> 00:09:17,800 So we have just shy of 10,000 volunteers for the marathon 158 00:09:17,800 --> 00:09:20,920 itself. So it works out to be about 1 159 00:09:20,920 --> 00:09:27,240 volunteer for every 3 runners. So we actually have to turn 160 00:09:27,240 --> 00:09:31,000 volunteers away. That's how popular this race is 161 00:09:31,000 --> 00:09:34,720 with our volunteer crew. Many have been here for decades 162 00:09:34,720 --> 00:09:38,120 and those who have served over 25 years get celebrated with a 163 00:09:38,120 --> 00:09:41,320 nice lunch. But the volunteer group is truly 164 00:09:41,600 --> 00:09:44,240 phenomenal. For the pro athlete teams, we 165 00:09:44,240 --> 00:09:49,000 have a whole group of folks and family members who come and 166 00:09:49,000 --> 00:09:52,760 support those athletes as well, so we love our volunteers in 167 00:09:52,760 --> 00:09:55,000 Boston. Yes, they are amazing and 168 00:09:55,000 --> 00:09:57,920 they're out there. And are they also involved in 169 00:09:57,920 --> 00:10:02,000 the post race operations, you know, taking down the course and 170 00:10:02,000 --> 00:10:05,240 cleaning up or is that another agency from Boston City 171 00:10:05,240 --> 00:10:09,240 directly? It's a combination of groups 172 00:10:09,400 --> 00:10:13,960 really that some vendors, some contractors, our operations team 173 00:10:14,760 --> 00:10:17,400 and marketing teams and volunteers. 174 00:10:17,400 --> 00:10:22,120 So it's really a a joint effort and returning Boston to the city 175 00:10:22,200 --> 00:10:24,720 after Marathon Monday, Monday. OK. 176 00:10:25,240 --> 00:10:29,240 And so once everybody starts and crosses the starting line, then 177 00:10:29,240 --> 00:10:31,640 you guys already know how many people had signed up and how 178 00:10:31,640 --> 00:10:34,040 many people are actually running this race. 179 00:10:34,240 --> 00:10:37,920 What are some other statistical things that you guys collect in 180 00:10:37,920 --> 00:10:40,840 the aftermath of this race? You know, medical tent usage, 181 00:10:40,840 --> 00:10:44,200 transportation, and what do you do with this data? 182 00:10:46,960 --> 00:10:52,800 So usually on Tuesday after the race, we will have a few folks, 183 00:10:53,080 --> 00:10:56,880 public safety officials and other folks report that data. 184 00:10:57,240 --> 00:11:02,880 So I don't have it quite handy, but things like in the past. 185 00:11:02,880 --> 00:11:09,160 Anyway, what we find interesting is first of all the economic 186 00:11:09,160 --> 00:11:14,200 impact of the race which was over 500 million for 2024. 187 00:11:14,200 --> 00:11:19,280 So that data is collected, the number of safety pins used, the 188 00:11:19,280 --> 00:11:26,360 number of trash cans used, the number of the the weight of 189 00:11:26,360 --> 00:11:32,600 recycled materials, the number of metals given out, the number 190 00:11:32,600 --> 00:11:39,240 of countries finishing athletes, of course, age groups, pretty 191 00:11:39,240 --> 00:11:42,440 much every data point. I wish I had the list for you, 192 00:11:42,440 --> 00:11:49,680 but it is kind of fun to see how all that data supports the day. 193 00:11:49,680 --> 00:11:52,360 The number of paper cups used for the water. 194 00:11:52,560 --> 00:11:56,600 How those are recycled. Number of T-shirts given out. 195 00:11:57,040 --> 00:12:02,000 Sizes of T-shirts given out. Exchanges of T-shirts at the 196 00:12:02,040 --> 00:12:04,160 Expo. Yes, yes, yes. 197 00:12:04,160 --> 00:12:07,120 And so maybe we'll end up getting the data from you and 198 00:12:07,120 --> 00:12:09,200 we'll link it because I think that stuff is very, very 199 00:12:09,200 --> 00:12:11,120 interesting. Another question that comes with 200 00:12:11,120 --> 00:12:13,880 that is the question of of course, every race is talking 201 00:12:13,880 --> 00:12:16,680 about its sustainability cups and everything. 202 00:12:16,920 --> 00:12:19,560 It's difficult, right, because runners don't want to run with 203 00:12:19,560 --> 00:12:23,920 refillable water bottles just because we're here to race, we 204 00:12:23,920 --> 00:12:26,400 want to go fast. And there are other things that 205 00:12:26,400 --> 00:12:29,200 might make an even bigger impact than not using those plastic 206 00:12:29,200 --> 00:12:32,320 cups per person, you know, anything from the bags that we 207 00:12:32,320 --> 00:12:34,400 use to go to the starting line etcetera. 208 00:12:34,640 --> 00:12:39,240 But from from that perspective, is there a sustainability or 209 00:12:39,240 --> 00:12:42,440 recycling aspect to the post race breakdown as well? 210 00:12:43,280 --> 00:12:47,400 Yes. And that that's we have now 211 00:12:47,400 --> 00:12:50,680 partnered with Schneider Electric as our sustainability 212 00:12:50,680 --> 00:12:54,240 partner. That's a group out of France and 213 00:12:54,240 --> 00:12:56,000 they are taking the lead on that. 214 00:12:56,000 --> 00:13:01,080 We also are involved with world athletic sustainability efforts, 215 00:13:01,080 --> 00:13:06,880 so it crosses boundaries from carbon footprint to diversity, 216 00:13:06,880 --> 00:13:11,640 equity, inclusion to materials used and where they're sourced. 217 00:13:11,640 --> 00:13:19,040 It covers about 70 points for sustainability and a lot of our 218 00:13:19,040 --> 00:13:22,920 initiatives are on our website, baa.org, so you can check those 219 00:13:22,920 --> 00:13:26,320 out if anybody's interested. But all of the major races 220 00:13:26,320 --> 00:13:28,840 around the world have to take into consideration 221 00:13:28,840 --> 00:13:32,960 sustainability and everybody is working towards that end to make 222 00:13:32,960 --> 00:13:36,280 it the greenest races we possibly can because that does 223 00:13:36,320 --> 00:13:38,640 impact every runner's experience. 224 00:13:38,960 --> 00:13:43,880 The air quality is a very big for races around the world, so 225 00:13:44,520 --> 00:13:50,600 everything from air quality to what type of where your safety 226 00:13:50,600 --> 00:13:53,920 pins are sourced, you know, it's nothing's too small. 227 00:13:54,680 --> 00:13:57,320 Yes, yes, yes. And then with that security, 228 00:13:57,320 --> 00:14:00,200 maybe you can speak a little bit to all the security that's 229 00:14:00,200 --> 00:14:02,120 involved. This is my first time not racing 230 00:14:02,120 --> 00:14:05,120 because I really just wanted to fully dive into the media and 231 00:14:05,120 --> 00:14:08,440 that's when I noticed how much policing is there. 232 00:14:08,440 --> 00:14:12,320 Obviously, we know what happened in 2013 and we're not going to 233 00:14:12,320 --> 00:14:15,920 go back there again, but just maybe you can talk to that a 234 00:14:15,920 --> 00:14:17,520 little bit. Yeah. 235 00:14:17,520 --> 00:14:20,960 Our Head of Race Operations, Lauren Prochin, and our CEO, 236 00:14:20,960 --> 00:14:26,160 Jack Fleming, work very closely with the 8 cities and towns. 237 00:14:26,160 --> 00:14:28,960 As you know, we're a point to point course and we run through 238 00:14:28,960 --> 00:14:31,880 8 cities and towns, ultimately ending in Boston. 239 00:14:32,480 --> 00:14:36,720 But each of those cities and towns have their own safety 240 00:14:36,720 --> 00:14:40,040 personnel that come out to support us on Marathon Monday. 241 00:14:40,240 --> 00:14:43,320 We also have course marshals as well as volunteers. 242 00:14:43,320 --> 00:14:48,600 We have race officials and a race referee and between 243 00:14:48,600 --> 00:14:54,600 everybody, pretty much every public safety group is involved 244 00:14:54,600 --> 00:14:56,680 in supporting us on Marathon Monday. 245 00:14:57,600 --> 00:14:59,480 OK. And you just mentioned race 246 00:14:59,480 --> 00:15:03,400 referee. I talked to Mark and in when I 247 00:15:03,400 --> 00:15:06,960 was in London because he's the German race director and he said 248 00:15:06,960 --> 00:15:09,480 he was the race referee. I had never even heard of that 249 00:15:09,480 --> 00:15:11,280 for running. So maybe you can explain a 250 00:15:11,280 --> 00:15:13,880 little bit what the job is of of the race referee. 251 00:15:14,880 --> 00:15:20,520 So we have we work with the mass track and field officials as 252 00:15:20,520 --> 00:15:23,960 well as USATF race referees and officials. 253 00:15:24,400 --> 00:15:31,680 They just ensure that the race is in compliance with all USATF 254 00:15:31,680 --> 00:15:36,200 and World Athletics rules and that is just the fairest race 255 00:15:36,200 --> 00:15:39,920 possible for everybody involved. So when you sign up for one of 256 00:15:39,920 --> 00:15:43,440 our races, you will sign a waiver and that will outline the 257 00:15:43,440 --> 00:15:47,200 some of the rules that every participant, not just the pros, 258 00:15:47,400 --> 00:15:50,640 needs to adhere by. So our race officials are 259 00:15:51,000 --> 00:15:56,280 looking at finish lines, they're looking at pro hydration 260 00:15:56,280 --> 00:15:59,880 stations. They just want to make it as 261 00:15:59,880 --> 00:16:03,520 fair a race as possible. So we really do depend on them. 262 00:16:03,680 --> 00:16:06,720 And Mark Milda's awesome and Berlin Marathon's wonderful. 263 00:16:06,760 --> 00:16:09,240 We love that race. Yes, absolutely. 264 00:16:09,240 --> 00:16:12,800 And shame on me for never reading the fine print, right? 265 00:16:12,800 --> 00:16:15,200 We should all know better. But I guess it's all out there. 266 00:16:15,680 --> 00:16:19,000 And I guess with that, maybe it's talk a little bit about the 267 00:16:19,000 --> 00:16:22,000 planning for 2026. You said this is Evergreen, so 268 00:16:22,000 --> 00:16:26,400 maybe tell us how how that goes the the intense period leading 269 00:16:26,400 --> 00:16:29,400 up to the Boston Marathon and then winding down a little bit. 270 00:16:30,000 --> 00:16:31,960 Sure. During the summer, we have a 271 00:16:31,960 --> 00:16:35,880 series of neighborhood fitness runs and neighborhood fitness 272 00:16:35,880 --> 00:16:40,360 series where we host fun runs around the city and and 273 00:16:40,360 --> 00:16:42,680 different neighborhoods. So that's ongoing during the 274 00:16:42,680 --> 00:16:45,000 summer. We also have the Boston 10K 275 00:16:45,000 --> 00:16:49,480 which is at the end of June and then we roll into, we're having 276 00:16:49,480 --> 00:16:53,120 a new event in August and then we have our half marathon in 277 00:16:53,120 --> 00:16:57,320 November. But in the build for Boston 278 00:16:57,320 --> 00:17:03,080 2026, we are reviewing some of our policies that may have been 279 00:17:03,080 --> 00:17:07,119 a hindrance to participants. We're reviewing our qualifying 280 00:17:07,119 --> 00:17:10,400 standards not for 2026, but for 2027. 281 00:17:10,800 --> 00:17:14,560 We're reviewing which races are qualifiers for Boston. 282 00:17:15,280 --> 00:17:19,720 We are also reviewing the timeline for race registration 283 00:17:19,720 --> 00:17:24,640 which begins in September and that qualifying window. 284 00:17:25,720 --> 00:17:29,640 And it's a lot of review processes, but also making sure 285 00:17:29,640 --> 00:17:34,200 our systems for registration and the vendors and contractors we 286 00:17:34,200 --> 00:17:37,920 use for registration are set in place and good to go based on 287 00:17:37,920 --> 00:17:41,600 bass past experiences. So it is a lot of review. 288 00:17:41,600 --> 00:17:47,600 We're also don't forget adjudicating results from 2025. 289 00:17:47,600 --> 00:17:50,560 We're waiting on drug testing for the professional fields 290 00:17:50,560 --> 00:17:53,480 before we can pay out those prize awards. 291 00:17:54,400 --> 00:17:57,360 So a lot of housekeeping and administrative work is really 292 00:17:57,360 --> 00:17:59,760 happening in the bill to it's September. 293 00:18:00,320 --> 00:18:05,080 Our 5K, which is 2 days before the race sold out in I think it 294 00:18:05,080 --> 00:18:10,880 was 21 minutes. So the races, it's fast and 295 00:18:10,880 --> 00:18:16,240 furious for all of our all of our races, including the Boston 296 00:18:16,240 --> 00:18:19,440 Marathon. It's very much in, in demand. 297 00:18:19,440 --> 00:18:21,240 So we have to be ready for that demand. 298 00:18:22,080 --> 00:18:23,480 Yeah. And you are aware that Marathon 299 00:18:23,480 --> 00:18:27,240 Tours sells hotel rooms, right? And those used to be on there 300 00:18:27,240 --> 00:18:30,800 for about a week and now it's come to the point that I'm not 301 00:18:30,800 --> 00:18:33,400 sure when that window opens. I think it's June 16th. 302 00:18:33,400 --> 00:18:37,080 And it's those rooms sell out within 1520 minutes as well. 303 00:18:37,480 --> 00:18:42,560 Yeah, unfortunately Boston is a very small city so the hotels 304 00:18:42,640 --> 00:18:47,080 Max out for sure. Other options are to go into 305 00:18:47,080 --> 00:18:52,400 Greater Boston or to get an Airbnb or to share rooms with 306 00:18:52,400 --> 00:18:54,760 other folks. But it is very, very tight in 307 00:18:54,760 --> 00:18:56,240 Boston. It's a small city. 308 00:18:56,240 --> 00:18:58,800 You there's no missing that there's a marathon happening 309 00:18:58,840 --> 00:19:01,080 happening in Boston. Other like some other major 310 00:19:01,080 --> 00:19:03,760 cities where you don't really know if there's a race going on. 311 00:19:03,760 --> 00:19:08,040 But in Boston, it is the race. Boston becomes the race for that 312 00:19:08,040 --> 00:19:10,440 weekend. As you know, our finish line is 313 00:19:10,440 --> 00:19:13,120 open. Everybody's walking around. 314 00:19:13,120 --> 00:19:17,080 It's not closed. It's not, it's not secure. 315 00:19:17,080 --> 00:19:20,200 You can just, it's more like a street festival really. 316 00:19:20,200 --> 00:19:24,560 And we really want that hometown kind of vibe to keep going 317 00:19:24,560 --> 00:19:26,960 strong here in Boston. Yeah, absolutely. 318 00:19:27,280 --> 00:19:29,400 And I just wanted to clarify something that you mentioned 319 00:19:29,400 --> 00:19:32,280 that you guys are waiting on drug test results. 320 00:19:32,280 --> 00:19:35,520 Just to explain to the listeners, how does it work? 321 00:19:35,520 --> 00:19:39,160 How come it takes so long? Isn't it that you just take the 322 00:19:39,160 --> 00:19:42,120 athletes after the race and then take their blood or urine and 323 00:19:42,120 --> 00:19:45,720 then there should be results? No, it is a process. 324 00:19:45,720 --> 00:19:49,800 So in Boston we, we take anti doping very seriously. 325 00:19:49,800 --> 00:19:52,920 As you know, we just launched, or maybe you don't know this, 326 00:19:52,920 --> 00:19:57,640 but we just launched a volunteer repayment program so that at any 327 00:19:57,640 --> 00:20:01,880 time since the inception of prize awards and then going into 328 00:20:01,880 --> 00:20:07,440 the future, if someone is disqualified from the Boston 329 00:20:07,440 --> 00:20:10,480 Marathon and has earned a prize award. 330 00:20:11,960 --> 00:20:16,360 We will then make compensation to the rightful owner of that 331 00:20:16,880 --> 00:20:20,040 rank. So we have been paying some 332 00:20:20,040 --> 00:20:22,720 voluntary repayments for prize awards. 333 00:20:22,960 --> 00:20:27,040 We just want everyone to recognize and to be valued. 334 00:20:27,640 --> 00:20:31,200 And it's under Storm that understood that placing at the 335 00:20:31,200 --> 00:20:35,680 Boston Marathon, coming in those top ten places is something that 336 00:20:35,680 --> 00:20:38,200 requires a lot of dedication and hard work. 337 00:20:38,480 --> 00:20:41,600 So if you're robbed of that because somebody has cheated, we 338 00:20:41,600 --> 00:20:45,000 want to still compensate you for your rightful rank. 339 00:20:45,680 --> 00:20:48,600 So having said that, in Boston for the marathon like most of 340 00:20:48,600 --> 00:20:52,240 the majors, all of our professional fields are tested 341 00:20:52,240 --> 00:20:56,040 prior to the race even starting and that's called pre 342 00:20:56,040 --> 00:21:00,800 competition testing and that's done for this year was done by 343 00:21:00,800 --> 00:21:03,520 USADA. And then the rate of the manager 344 00:21:03,520 --> 00:21:08,600 of those results is the Athlete Integrity Unit which is based in 345 00:21:08,600 --> 00:21:13,720 Monaco and affiliated with World Athletics, so the governing body 346 00:21:13,720 --> 00:21:16,000 for Rd. events and track and field. 347 00:21:16,520 --> 00:21:21,680 So those athletes, most everyone is tested pre comp and then in 348 00:21:21,680 --> 00:21:26,920 competition it is random. That is the top finishers, it is 349 00:21:26,920 --> 00:21:30,040 para athletes, it is open athletes and it is wheelchair 350 00:21:30,040 --> 00:21:32,360 athletes. All of those folks are then 351 00:21:32,360 --> 00:21:37,000 tested on race day. The samples are then sent to a 352 00:21:37,000 --> 00:21:43,520 testing facility, a laboratory where everything is ensured that 353 00:21:43,520 --> 00:21:45,440 the race was as fair as possible. 354 00:21:45,480 --> 00:21:47,080 And then we received the results. 355 00:21:48,000 --> 00:21:51,040 After we received the results, we would then issue the prize 356 00:21:51,040 --> 00:21:53,440 awards. Perfect. 357 00:21:53,440 --> 00:21:57,280 Thank you for explaining that. My next question is goes to the 358 00:21:57,280 --> 00:22:00,600 two things that runners really care about, the jacket and the 359 00:22:00,600 --> 00:22:03,360 metal. The medal this year. 360 00:22:03,720 --> 00:22:08,480 I mean, one of my regret points in skipping this race this year, 361 00:22:08,480 --> 00:22:11,120 'cause I was like, Oh my gosh, this is an amazing medal. 362 00:22:11,120 --> 00:22:14,560 So we are super happy that BAA and the Boston Athletics 363 00:22:14,560 --> 00:22:17,400 Association work together and came up with this beautiful 364 00:22:17,400 --> 00:22:19,600 thing. But my question is how long does 365 00:22:19,600 --> 00:22:23,160 it take and who designs both jackets and medals? 366 00:22:24,080 --> 00:22:29,040 Well, Adidas is responsible for all of the gear I have on the 367 00:22:29,040 --> 00:22:35,320 celebration jacket right now. So they designed that for our 368 00:22:35,320 --> 00:22:37,400 race. They have been a long term 369 00:22:37,400 --> 00:22:40,200 partner over 35 years with the BAA. 370 00:22:40,720 --> 00:22:46,640 So we, we just can't say enough positive things about Adidas as 371 00:22:46,640 --> 00:22:50,240 a company and they're their crew, their staff, everybody is 372 00:22:50,240 --> 00:22:53,920 all hands on for Boston. So they work in conjunction with 373 00:22:53,920 --> 00:22:58,120 our marketing team to ensure that the Bank of America which 374 00:22:58,120 --> 00:23:04,360 presents our race is visible in those logos. 375 00:23:04,520 --> 00:23:09,040 So the Bank, Adidas and BA Marketing, which is head up by 376 00:23:09,080 --> 00:23:14,360 Steve Scott Stover and Katie Hawkes and Rich Brothers, they 377 00:23:14,640 --> 00:23:19,480 share the workload to get those orders in well in advance. 378 00:23:19,920 --> 00:23:24,880 And then for the medal that also is the bank and our team working 379 00:23:24,880 --> 00:23:29,200 together to delight the finishers. 380 00:23:29,600 --> 00:23:31,200 I really did like this year's medal. 381 00:23:31,200 --> 00:23:34,280 My son and my daughter both ran and I was jealous too. 382 00:23:34,280 --> 00:23:37,160 Letty so. Congratulations to them. 383 00:23:37,160 --> 00:23:39,320 Did they do well? They did do well. 384 00:23:39,320 --> 00:23:41,840 They finished within two minutes of each other, which was kind of 385 00:23:41,840 --> 00:23:43,400 funny. Oh wow, and they didn't run 386 00:23:43,400 --> 00:23:46,040 together? They did not run together, no. 387 00:23:46,360 --> 00:23:47,560 Yeah. Maybe they should have. 388 00:23:48,440 --> 00:23:52,160 They know. Well, proud moments for you as a 389 00:23:52,160 --> 00:23:54,000 mother. I'm sure my kids are too young 390 00:23:54,000 --> 00:23:57,080 to be running any races, but of course, I hope that that'll be 391 00:23:57,080 --> 00:23:59,600 in their future once they're a little bit older. 392 00:24:00,280 --> 00:24:04,720 MK, thank you so much for your time, and we're very happy to 393 00:24:04,720 --> 00:24:08,320 hear about these insights of how this race winds down. 394 00:24:08,320 --> 00:24:11,480 But because of having all these other distances, it never really 395 00:24:11,480 --> 00:24:13,920 does wind down for the BAA. Right. 396 00:24:13,920 --> 00:24:17,840 And we are already recruiting for 2026, so we will have some 397 00:24:17,840 --> 00:24:20,600 exciting names for you to watch out for for next year. 398 00:24:21,320 --> 00:24:22,320 Perfect. I can't wait. 399 00:24:22,320 --> 00:24:25,480 Thank you so much, MK. Thank you Letty and good luck in 400 00:24:25,480 --> 00:24:26,960 all your running. Thank. 401 00:24:27,080 --> 00:24:29,160 You thank you so much for the invitation. 402 00:24:32,600 --> 00:24:35,240 Thank you, Mary Kay for hopping on and speaking with us. 403 00:24:35,240 --> 00:24:38,440 Now we know what goes on. Now we know why some of you 404 00:24:38,440 --> 00:24:42,200 might say the sign up fees are so high for this marathon 405 00:24:42,200 --> 00:24:45,600 because so many people are involved and so much goes on 406 00:24:45,800 --> 00:24:48,800 after a marathon. So that was really interesting. 407 00:24:48,920 --> 00:24:52,400 It was, and maybe in the future you'll get some more interviews 408 00:24:52,400 --> 00:24:55,320 like that, but give it, get it. Go into the technicalities of 409 00:24:55,760 --> 00:24:57,600 marathons. Yeah, absolutely. 410 00:24:57,600 --> 00:24:59,640 So that was fun again. Thank you. 411 00:25:00,120 --> 00:25:02,320 And what do we have for next week? 412 00:25:02,400 --> 00:25:05,400 So next week we're going to talk to a registered dietitian 413 00:25:05,400 --> 00:25:08,040 because because what? It's summertime and we all need 414 00:25:08,040 --> 00:25:10,320 to hydrate. So we're going to talk about the 415 00:25:10,320 --> 00:25:13,360 big topic of hydration. We do that once a year. 416 00:25:13,360 --> 00:25:15,800 Well, I guess we talk about summer running once a year, but 417 00:25:15,800 --> 00:25:18,960 this time we're going to really talk about what you need to do 418 00:25:19,120 --> 00:25:23,160 in order to stay hydrated and why hydrating is so important. 419 00:25:23,160 --> 00:25:25,080 Sounds good. So with that. 420 00:25:25,440 --> 00:25:26,680 Have a have a great week of running. 421 00:25:30,160 --> 00:25:32,800 Thanks for tuning in. For more information, go to 422 00:25:32,800 --> 00:25:38,520 www.marathonrunningpodcast.com or check us out on all channels.