A Simple Fix to the NYC Marathon Bag Drop Fiasco

The New York Road Runner's Club (NYRR), organizer of the NYC Marathon, has announced a significant policy change for this year's race: runners will not be able to drop off a bag at the start on Staten Island and pick it up at the finish in Central Park.

In its place, NYRR will provide runners with a fleece-lined poncho after they exit the park, to keep them warm until they can meet friends with their bag, or get back to their hotel or apartment.

NYRR has also added a fourth "wave" to the start to reduce the terrible crowding many runners experienced last year, when some said that it "wasn't a race, it was a communal fun run." NYRR also brought back the Family Reunion area and added "Call Home" stations.

The policy changes seek to address a frequent complaint from prior marathons: the extreme crowding after the finish as runners snake in a line to pick up their baggage and exit the park. The slow crawl is actually dangerous; I've seen many, many runners fall to the ground as a result of cramping up after coming to a sudden stop after 26 miles of running. Others, including me, experience significant blood pressure drops when coming to a sudden stop; at other races, I forestall this by walking swiftly for several minutes after the finish. As this is impossible at the NYC Marathon, I have to slow significantly over the last half-mile to gradually bring my pressure down.

Many runners have reacted with dismay, wanting to be reunited with fresh clothing and a cell phone, among other comforts, soon after the finish. Some have demanded a refund and vowed never to run another NYRR race.

Others reacted with delight. Many runners, particularly experienced runners familiar with NYC, already choose not to check a bag. They wear a pouch with money, a MetroCard, a phone, etc. and meet friends at a pre-arranged checkpoint several blocks away. This group boils with frustration over the fact that the 72nd St. exit from the park is usually closed, and they've had to walk to exits further north on a line slowed by those picking up a bag.

I've run the NYC Marathon three times, and three marathons in other cities, and was an informed spectator watching three friends cope with last year's crowding debacle. In my view, NYRR had to do something dramatic to address what was truly a dangerous situation. However, it could have done this in a way that met the needs of all runners and would be more likely to reduce crowding.

Here's the solution:

1. The exits at 72nd, 77th, 81st and 86th Sts. are for those who do not check a bag. Those leaving from the 81st and 86th St. exits receive a fleece-lined poncho and have access to a "Call Home" station; those exiting at 72nd St. and 77th St. do not get a poncho or phone access, providing a super "speed pass" lane for those who choose it. There is no egress-slowing Family Reunion area at any of these spots. If the weather is warm, I would expect 3/4 or more of the runners will choose not to check a bag.

2. The baggage trucks are parked north of 86th St. inside the park, and there is a family reunion area on CPW starting at 96th St, but no "Call Home" stations and no poncho for runners in this group. Anyone who walks past 81st St. must exit the park at 96th St. Anyone who checks a bag gets exactly what they  expected when they signed up for the race.

3. Lastly, NYRR must insure near-absolute integrity of placement in Wave 1, because the primary cause of crowding along the course and all the way through the exit from the park is runners who run in a wave they do not belong in, and no number of additional waves will stem this.  Unbelievably, runners in Wave 2 report catching up to large packs of runners fromWave 1 well before the ten-mile mark point. This means there are runners in Wave 1 who are running the race more than an hour slower than many of those in Wave 2.

If Wave 1 were comprised solely of the fastest runners, then 25% of the runners would be mostly off the course before the rest came along, and crowding would be deferred and never get as bad as it did last year. The worst "choke point" is for the average runners - those who run the race in 3:45 to 4:30 - in the 2nd and 3rd Waves, because they run at the same pace as so many others in their wave and yet are fast enough to catch quite a few slower runners in early waves. If Wave 2 don't run into back-up from Wave 1, then the worst crowding may be obviated for all.

NYRR should take very strict steps to ensure the integrity of placement in Wave 1. It could ask runners who want to be in Wave 1 to provide evidence of running a qualified time, whether verifiable evidence or a sworn statement; if they can't, they go to Wave 2. NYRR should also announce that it will spot-check the evidence provided; if a runner is found to have submitted a fraudulent time, he or she is disqualified from the race, or at the very least assigned a spot at the rear of Wave 4.

Also Read:

8 Ways to Support Runners in the NYC Marathon

Advice for Running the NYC Marathon