[ Post a Response | Crow Athletics Message Board ]
Posted by Stevie V on November 16, 2007, 10:21 am, in reply to "Re: oldest continuous race in Maine?"
I'd submit that having the "same" course need ot be a factor to be "continuously run". I would bet that many long-running races have had some course modifications, greater or lesser, for reasons ranging from traffic control to reconstruction to facilities disappearing to moving because of the size of the event.
Distances might be a bit more sacred - dropping to 5K from 5 miles is less continuous than moving from an English to a metric distance, or moving the distance up/down so a 5.8 miler is moved up to a standard 10K or down to a 5 mile.
Continuity of management could be considered, but more than one race has been rescued by individuals or clubs when the original
Courses are modified regulary, if only a city block; would Boston not be the same because the finish line (and in the distant past, the starting line) has been changed over the years?
The Around Cape Ann 25K down here was postponed for a week due to a hurricane several years ago, but would still be considered continuous. The YMCA took it over from an individual director. And though it wasn't run for a few years, it did changed from July 4 to the current Labor Day date which I would consider still being continuous.
Were the Calais/St.S race be held on only one side of the border, I'd say its continuity remains intact if the fundamentals still make it recognizeable. It's a course change just as a bridge out would require. Though a footnote would probably be in order.
Stevie V
--Previous Message--
: wow, only vaguely heard of the Calais / St
: Stephen race. Really the feds won't let
: runners cross into Canada and then come
: back??? If that's the case pretty silly, I
: guess you never know whats in those darned
: Gu packs.. extra caffeine!!
:
: If using the same course doesn't matter as
: in the case of keeping a streak going in
: Portland, Do you think the race might be
: held completely in either the US or Canada
: and could it still count? Do you think there
: would be support if the course were changed?
: Really 38 years? Yes, you're right we should
: all do what we can to make sure it keeps
: going.
:
: I guess I'm down that Bangor wins the
: longest continuous, feel that just because
: you name a race something (that just happens
: to be completely different) to me its like
: celebrating New years on July 4th, just not
: the same no matter what you call it. But
: agree kudos to the volunteers and runners
: for creating a new Veterans Day event.
:
: --Previous Message--
: I thought about this on my run today, and I
: hope that they and we reflect on the Boston
: Marathon and what had happened in 1918.
: That being said, The Portland Boys and Girls
: Club Patriot's Day 5 Miler continues to have
: the distinction of being continuously run
: for 78 years. I am proud of the Portland
: Boys and Girls Club for making sure it
: happened for 2007 and appreciate the
: volunteers and others who helped put in on.
:
: Is Bangor Labor Day is the oldest continuous
: road race in Maine? Should the Portland
: Boys Club 5 Miler which has continuously run
: for 78 years also be considered the oldest?
: It's a good question, and I appreciate this
: club's opinion.
:
: But what concerns me the most is neither of
: these two races. In 2007 we could have seen
: the 3rd continuously held road race in
: Maine, and perhaps the oldest race in New
: Brunswick end. The Johnson's International
: 5 Miler held in Calais and St. Stephen has
: run continously the past 38 years may end
: because of the new border crossing
: requirements by the US Department of
: Homeland Security. Let's be proactive to
: ensure that weather, not politics end this
: streak.
:
:
:
Message Thread:
« Back to thread