As a race director, I can sympathize with the Boston Athletic Association and the hurdles they had to overcome to conduct this huge centennial marathon. To an extent. Certainly the BAA faced unique problems in coordinating the race. They were working inside limited geographic parameters for sure, but let's also recognize that they had the kind of access to resources and political clout that small race directors can only dream of. And with millions of tourism dollars at stake, the city of Boston was ready to pull out all of the stops in order to ensure both the race and the region put its best face forward.
Happy customers are return customers, so they say.
A As a participant, you couldn't have asked for more. We were informed by postcard early in the year of our acceptance, and received a race packet weeks in advance of the race. The number pickup at the Expo was spacious and easy to negotiate. As runners, we were kept very well informed of how the logistics would theoretically work. D Things got off to a smooth start at the Boston Common, where loading onto buses was quick and efficient.