Ask Yourself Why … by NORRIE WILLIAMSON
ASK YOURSELF WHY …
Ask Yourself Why … by NORRIE WILLIAMSON
Labels & Points for 2024
With the 2023 road running calendar closing , and the 2024 World Athletics Label applications being confirmed , it ’ s a good time to look worldly and consider why South African runners are missing out on some great experiences , and why our better runners are also missing out on opportunities to improve their performances and earning power .
We all know that there are many great , but unsung road races throughout South Africa , and in some cases , the very attraction of these events is the low numbers , which allows runners to truly enjoy the scenery and environment of the route . On the other hand , there are races that benefit from the ‘ vibe ’ of large crowds . At a global level , typical of this latter group are the six marathons that are held under the Abbott umbrella as the Marathon Majors : London , Boston , Berlin , Chicago , New York , and Tokyo .
Many runners are unaware of the real depth of global running . There really is a whole world of road races out there , but the Majors are best known because of the TV broadcasts and media coverage they receive around the world . It is no wonder that organisers want to become the next Major , or sell the ( perhaps unrealistic ) concept to sponsors or municipalities that an event will be the local version of London , Berlin or New York .
A Numbers Game
The reality in South Africa is that we simply don ’ t have the numbers to create this sort of event , which is one reason that the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon is struggling to meet the 103 stringent criteria set by the USA- and Europe-based Abbott Major grouping in order to become a Major . Consider that both South Africa and the UK have similar populations at 67 million , but the difference is that Britain would fit into South Africa five times !
Just considering England , there are 58 million people within one to three hours ’ travel of London , and a population density of 446 people per square kilometre . If one expands this to include close cross-channel neighbours , then the population increases to around 300 million that a major marathon like London can draw upon .
Compare this to Cape Town ’ s footprint . There are 7.4 million people in the Western Cape province with a density of 57 per square kilometre . Even considering that 4.9 million live in the Mother City , with a density of 1991 people per square km , this is still minimal compared to London , or New York , where Manhattan Island is home to 1.69 million people living at a density of 28,500 per square km !
Even with the entire 1.46 billion population of the African continent , Cape Town would struggle to match the numbers . The average population density in Africa is 48 people per square kilometre , and the flight time up the continent , Cape to Cairo , is almost 12 hours . By comparison East coast USA and UK or Berlin are only nine hours apart , and most of Europe is just two to three hours away . Is it reasonable then for Abbott Major candidate races to be expected to consistently have 15,000 marathon finishers ?
Flights and Accessibility
Another criterion for candidate city marathons is a direct flight to New York and / or London . The logic of this becomes questionable when considering any Chinese candidates . Chengdu is one of the five largest cities in China , with 9.48 million people ( 660 per square kilometre ), but has no direct flight to London or New York . Should that rule Chengdu out as a possible Major ?
The fact is that pre-pandemic , there were 1800 major marathon races in China annually , each with over 20,000 runners , and most have now returned to the calendar . Xiamen Marathon in January has over 50,000 runners , and November 2022 saw the Beijing Marathon celebrate its 40th anniversary with over 66,000 runners , of whom 29,000 finished the marathon distance , and the balance in other distances offered .
It ’ s not so easy for the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon to meet Majors criteria
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