Most problems related to two unfortunate events. A school group of volunteers needing to back out last minute due to swine flu issues and a single motorcyclist who accidently missed an important turn. Below are the details of how these two things unfolded. I am sorry if I am offering too much detail - but we feel you - the runners - deserve to know the details.

At 11 PM the nite before the race - we received a phone call from a school principle stating that his students (over 50 volunteers) could not help with the race due to concerns of swine flu in the school. He made a tough decision but one he felt was in the best interest. This situation resulted in much last minute shuffling on race morning. On a holiday weekend there was no way to fill these spots on such short notice. There were other volunteer groups who came with less than promised - but for that we had a buffer built in). This last minute shuffling resulted in moving finish line volunteers out to the two water stops the students would have covered - though with far fewer bodies. There was plenty of water - actually more than 1,000 gallons we had left over. But we were left with insufficient volunteers in the finish area which slowed down the distribution of water at the finish. This also lead to mostly no volunteers to monitor the early finishers and friends, as several people on active have pointed out - who were walking away with mounds of food. This was most unfortunate. We will certainly change our structure next year so that any particular area is not dependent upon one group of volunteers. Recruiting volunteers on Memorial day weekend has always been a challenge - we are already discussing incentive plans that might motivate people to volunteer and we welcome any suggestions. One thought is to offer race numbers to running clubs and school track clubs that can be auctioned off - in exchange for volunteer commitments.

The other major problem was the result of human error. We have traditionally had a race official in the lead car. This year we learned last minute that the lead vehicle was a police motorcycle and for liability issues they could not carry a passenger. The lead motorcyclist did in fact miss a turn. There is some question about how this happened. We have had some back and forth communications with the lead runner and those involved with the motorcyclist. There is uncertainty as to how this happened - it was human error but why? We did have markings and cones marking turns - It has not been clear if someone maliciously or accidently moved the cones or if they were there and gone around. We are still working on clearing this up and looking for pictures that might answer this question.

This was very unfortunate and had a ripple effect. It resulted in a course that was 815 feet short (or .154 miles). The other impact was that by missing this turn - the race also missed the first water stop. Had that not been missed - we would have had the same number of water stops that we have always had. I do feel that because of the large number of first time runners - we need additional water stops and next year will add to the number planned for - that is a commitment to all the runners. We will also add additional portapotties along the route. Our current conversations are about announcing that water stop 1 located very early in the race - probably between city hall and fanueil hall be for first time runners and that experienced runners might want to wait till the 2nd water stop (at New Chardon and Congress). This could cut down on some of the congestion around the water stop. So in the first 3 miles we would end up with 3 water stops and people could plan accordingly.

As far as the lead motorcycle missing the turn - we have been assured that for all future races we will have a vehicle in the lead that allows for a race official as passenger and that person will have the ability to properly direct the course.

On finish food - we will not only have more - but have it better managed. On the expo front - with the recession - the biggest loss that most non-profits are experiencing is the loss of corporate sponsors. This has greatly impacted the expo for this year and last. I think people are right - Saturday is about early number pick up. We lose money on the expo. The exhibitors who spend big money on the Boston Marathon expo - need to make some cuts in their budget and our race being so close to BAA expo has suffered. The reason we must offer the expo is that if all 6,000 to 7,000 registrants picked up their number Sunday morning - it would create much bigger problems. This year about 70% picked up their numbers on Saturday - this lead to mostly smooth pickup on both days. To address this -we are looking at offering number pick up on Friday afternoon so people on their way from work could pick up as well as Saturday. Those who come in with kids on Saturday seem to have a good time with the kids events we offer, the expo does provide many non-profits the opportunity to market their events to the runners - this is very beneficial to them and educational possibly for the runners. If the economy turns around - maybe the expo will be able to grow. We will have to wait and see.

I hope that we have answered most questions - we too are frustrated and are absolutely committed to solving the things that did go wrong this year. It was two particular unfortunate situations that created the bulk of the issues. The challenges of a large urban race like this are great and the costs of putting on such an event are immense. However the issues that came up this year were not related to cost cutting measures. We are committed to correcting these issues and offering the runners a good experience.

We ask for your support and your understanding.