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The Los Angeles Marathon is scheduled to take place on Sunday. Due to the forecasted warm weather, people who find the heat to be too much can make an early turn to the finish line and run just 18 miles of the 26.2-mile (42.195 kms) certified marathon distance course. They will receive a finisher’s medal.
Eighteen miles is 28.97 kilometres.
Various solutions for future LA Marathons
For Sunday’s race, it is too late to change plans for the event. However, for future years, alternatives could be set in advance for race day in the case of inclement weather.
Some in the athletics community are asking why a 30-kilometre (18.63 mi.) finish, or 20 miles (32.19 kms) instead of 18 miles, was not planned. It is likely that the turn at 18 miles is conveniently located as an “exit” to the finish and that the other benchmark distances would require greater logistical planning.
However, the idea of offering a 30 km or 20 mi finish has merit in that finishers can count the result as a certified performance over a distance that makes sense. This would require remeasuring the course to the respective distances.
One scenario that would have boded well for the Los Angeles Marathon would be to consider that the race be only 20 miles or 30 kms for this year, due to the heat (for all non-elites). In this case, seeded and elite athletes could either finish the short version as a long run to use toward a marathon in April or provide the option to elites to race the marathon as planned. Regardless, prize money should be awarded as planned.
Should the organizing committee create an early exit route for future years? Perhaps there could be a legitimate race of 30 kms or 20 miles. Should the altered course be 20 miles, then timers could set up sensors to capture the 30 km result as well, thereby giving two results in one race.
Offering permanent options
In early March, Los Angeles typically experiences temperature highs of approximately 20°C. Like anywhere, it is not unusual for the temperature to go up or down for short periods of time. Having a contingency plan with a certified measured alternative route in place would make for a convenient and palatable change.
Having both distances added to the marathon every year may be worth considering, as marathon race events already offer half-marathon options and often 10 km and or 5 km distances as well as kids 1 km events. Considering the odd distance of the “half-marathon,” versus increments of 20, 25, 30, 20 miles and 35 kms could be considered for many marathon races.
The half-marathon runs 21.09 kms or 13.109 mi., an odd distance to offer for racing, where splits are measured to the km or mi and various rounded increments along the way. While standards and benchmarks are well established for the half-marathon event, the idea of eliminating them does not make sense. Additionally, there are half-marathon world championships and world, national and area records officially kept in the record books.
However, making the rounded distances more common may add interest to specific events, differentiating marathon races from each other.
For example, the Marathon Majors could avoid alienating the people who feel that they completed the six, seven or eight Marathon Majors and are “done,” by offering Marathon Minis. Complete all eight short marathons-adjacent events: 20 kms, 21.09 kms, 15 mi., 25 km, 30 kms, 20 miles, 35 kms and 40 kms.
Either way, the time is now to begin planning for alternatives to the 42.195 km (26.2-mile) marathon distance in case of inclement weather.
