Hey, I say this as a 5:30-6 hour marathon-er. Firstly, on Paris, I think they’ve extended things - slightly. I ran 5:47 there this year, I started at the front of the final wave, I’ll grant you, which was about 11:05, and they were saying “final finishers” at 17:20 on the stuff. By the time I got out the finish area, met my friends etc there was absolutely no sign of them packing up.
Secondly, though, I’ll grant you that short cut offs are the worst. I’m in a smaller half in a few weeks with a “strict” cut off of 2:40. It’s not going to take much of a bad race for me to miss that.
I just wish faster runners appreciated just how much harder it is to be out there for that much longer. And how much harder it makes training because you just can’t cover the same distance in the same time. A training plan says 10k? That’s going to need an awful lot more of some people’s time than others.
I completely agree with you :) Yes, they have changed things in Paris which is great, their overall participation numbers have increased over the last few years. The cut off times just add another layer of stress to any event, knowing that your race has to be perfect because there isn't a "buffer" can make running an event unenjoyable, and the whole point is to enjoy it.
Hey, I say this as a 5:30-6 hour marathon-er. Firstly, on Paris, I think they’ve extended things - slightly. I ran 5:47 there this year, I started at the front of the final wave, I’ll grant you, which was about 11:05, and they were saying “final finishers” at 17:20 on the stuff. By the time I got out the finish area, met my friends etc there was absolutely no sign of them packing up.
Secondly, though, I’ll grant you that short cut offs are the worst. I’m in a smaller half in a few weeks with a “strict” cut off of 2:40. It’s not going to take much of a bad race for me to miss that.
I just wish faster runners appreciated just how much harder it is to be out there for that much longer. And how much harder it makes training because you just can’t cover the same distance in the same time. A training plan says 10k? That’s going to need an awful lot more of some people’s time than others.
I completely agree with you :) Yes, they have changed things in Paris which is great, their overall participation numbers have increased over the last few years. The cut off times just add another layer of stress to any event, knowing that your race has to be perfect because there isn't a "buffer" can make running an event unenjoyable, and the whole point is to enjoy it.