Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 120, July 2019 | Page 36

OUT OF
THE By BOX
Norrie Williamson
BOOM OR BANG?
Is the running world growing? The Soweto Marathon is targeting 40,000 entries, Cape Town wants 15,000 finishers, the
Two Oceans has outgrown its finish venue, and the Comrades has dreams of 34,000 entries in the 2021 centenary race
(1000 for each starter in the inaugural race of 24 May 1921). No sooner do events launch their entries, than they fill up –
both Comrades and Oceans sold out in record time, and the Om Die Dam 50km filled up in three weeks. The question is,
why is there a drive for numbers, and more importantly, are we heading towards big celebrations of numbers, or running
the risk of disaster?
A
The IAAF has, in recent years, acknowledged these
innovative, creative forms of running as part of their
participative market, and events such as trail running,
mountain running and ultra-running have been gaining
in status over recent decades. The first World 100km
Championships, ‘held under the patronage of the
IAAF’ in 1987, has over time grown to full-blown World
Championship status, as have Mountain Running and
Trail Running. Indeed, the first round of Continental
50km Championships have been launched for 2019,
with the African Championships announced for 7
December in Nigeria. It speaks volumes that West
Africa, long known for sprints and jumps, will host an
ultra-distance championship before more established
distance countries such as Kenya and Ethiopia, let
alone South Africa.
Debatably, it shows how inwardly focused South
African organisers and runners are, that despite our
claim to having the best ultra-races, our organisers,
runners and clubs have overlooked this opportunity
of expanding our international impact. Apart from all
the other benefits, hosting such championships would
make for a more attractive marketing footprint for
much-needed sponsors.
Global Growth
There are many other indicators of world growth in
running. The Association of Marathons and Distance
Races (AIMS) has expanded its membership to
over 450 races, in some 120 countries and states,
including its first member marathon race in Palestine.
There is also considerable growth in developing
countries, with events increasing throughout Africa
and the Middle East, and massively around Asia.
At the IAAF Global Running Conference, held in
Lanzhou, China, we were informed by the Chinese
Athletic Association (CAA), of its eruptive growth
of marathon races, from 22 in 2011 to over 1500
marathons in 2018! Over 5 million runners competed
in these events, and China now has its own ‘Marathon
Majors’ and many IAAF Label races. My personal
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experience as a technical delegate at three of these
events in the last eight months is that not only do
they attract a mass of runners, but they offer amongst
the highest standard of organisation in the world,
particularly around medical, tables and communication.
India is the other major country of running growth – not
surprising, given its population size. This is grown by
runners, rather than the federations, but at any race, one
immediately gets the feel that this is a country at the
acute bend in an exponential curve that will see massive
increase in both numbers and then performance.
Nor can Japan be ignored, with the Tokyo Marathon
receiving 350,000 applications and 30,000 runners
accepted for their city marathon. The Lake Saroma
100km fills its 5000 places in a week, and of course,
the standard of racing is high, with both the men’s
and women’s world records set on the course.
Nao Kazami, with a third-place debut in this year’s
Comrades, gave indication of the performance
standard in their ultras.
organisers
t first sight, a Running USA survey report
earlier this year points to the running boom in
the USA having tailed off. After steady growth
in the total number of running race entries from 1990
(when just under 5 million were taken), the numbers
taken in 2018 have dropped to 18.1 million from a
record 19 million in 2016. However, closer inspection
shows that this decrease is primarily in the non-
traditional events such as obstacle racing, colour runs
and other non-standard events.