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With the promise:
"It's gonna be bigger, better, and
faster!" the Beirut Marathon Association launched its 2004 campaign as
early as the morning of October 20th, 2003! "Even during the most hectic
hours of the 2003 preparations, we never lost our vision for 2004,"
says Race
Director,
Nathan Clayton. "There are quite a few aspects of the Beirut
International Marathon that we believe we can very much improve in the
coming year" Clayton, otherwise known as RD, answered a series of
questions concerning the upcoming preparations.
Q: Are there any aspects of
last year's race that you would consider to be below standards?
RD: Anyone who knows our
standards at the Beirut Marathon Association knows they are pretty difficult
to keep up with! I have never settled for anything less than the best, and
together with my staff, I had worked on perfecting every aspect of the 2003
races. Unfortunately, and due to restrictions of time and resources, a few
plans and schedules did not materialize well into action on October 19th.
The finish line area was one example of this. Our security measures did not
anticipate such large masses of spectators and could not entirely control
their excitement on the day.
Q: What were the reasons
behind the choice of October 10th as the 2004 Race Day?
RD: The 2004 date proved to
be quite a problem for us. The Holy month of Ramadan begins mid-October
next year and takes up all the Sundays from then until mid-November.
Unfortunately, a date
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in late November would be too risky
knowing the high likelihood of heavy rain storms during those weeks. Also,
Ramadan is a tough month for training, and many athletes would risk a low
performance if racing a week after their month of fasting. Therefore, and
after careful scrutiny, we were left with October 10th as the
best date. October is actually quite unpredictable, and the 10th
could very much turn out to be a cool and breezy day!
Q: What measures have been
taken to improve the running conditions on October 10th?
RD: A few days after our
first marathon, we set up an online evaluation form where runners could
express their opinion of various aspects of the BIM 2003. Over 200
individuals answered this form and gave very useful comments – all of which
I personally read and will take into consideration in the coming
preparations. Our runners will be able to notice our responses to their
remarks as we announce the various changes for 2004. The start times, for
example, have been moved back considerably to allow for cooler running
before the heat kicks in. Marathon runners now start at 6:30 and the 10-K runners start at 7:00. The two fields have also been
separated at the 2004 start to ensure that the more serious marathoners can
enjoy a more athletic start. Security measures on the course are another
aspect that we will study and execute more professionally in 2004.
Q: How many runners do you
anticipate for 2004?
RD: Considering that over
1500 runners registered on the last day
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Nathan Clayton, Race Director, announcing the
2004 date during the BIM Press Conference on Wednesday 5th of
November.
of registration, there's very little that
can surprise me anymore! I think we can expect a fairly large running field
of over 8000 people. Some members of my staff are betting on 15,000, so
we'll have to see how it goes. We will, however, have to be far more strict with registration this time round.
Registration closes midnight on August 15th,
2004. We will
accept late registration if accompanied by a $20 late fee up until midnight on August 31st. This
procedure is necessary to ensure proper timing and course preparations.
After August 31st, even my own mother won't be able to get a
running place!
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