THE
INTERFERENCE FACTOR
THE
INTERFERENCE FACTORWhat attracts a big crowd to a road race? Why do some races draw hundreds and others thousands? Is it the competition? The setting? The refreshments? Some SDTC races offer fierce competition among a scant several hundred participants. Some small races have more refreshments than can be consumed, whereas some large races offer virtually nothing. Some small races give out beautiful trophies for mediocre times whereas some big ones give $10 gift certificates to elite athletes. Is it the publicity? The management? Why do 600 run the America's Finest City Half Marathon and 600 run the Bonita Half Marathon?
No doubt, the mixture of ingredients that go into a highly successful race are complex and little understood even by most race directors. One factor, which is seldom mentioned, is here designated the Interference Factor (IF). The IF cannot be defined or measured precisely, but it refers to the degree to which a race disrupts the lives of the non-running community. What are the most successful races in San Diego? The America's Finest City Half Marathon, the Heart of San Diego Marathon and 10K, the Coronado Half Marathon, the Buick 10K and the Coronado Bridge 10K all come to mind; all are very high IF races. On the other hand, how does a 10K around Lake Murray or one confined to Fiesta Island draw? A 10K is a 10K, but other factors being equal, the IF concept implies that the more disruptive the race is to the community in which it is held, the more participants will gather.
Few experienced racers would deny the IF concept, although it may well not appeal to some. But the question is, why do high IF races have such great appeal to most runners? Well, this gets into the nature of runners and the running experience. First of all, the running community is somewhat like a very large informal fraternity. Runners all seem to enjoy other runners. The competition is tough, but the gatherings are always congenial. Although the social structure is somewhat stratified on the basis of speed,, most runners are highly supportive and understanding of one another. Such is definitely not the case with the runner in the outside community.
Runners suffer considerable psychological abuse from the more sedentary majority (but outsiders always wonder how runners remain so slim and look so young!). People continuously ask if you are still jogging, but they aren't the least bit interested in the answer. They regard your sweat as disgusting and try to keep a safe distance. Car drivers honk or yell and drive through dirt or puddles just to make your road life miserable. People shout and make rude remarks. Bicyclists see how close they can come without hitting you. Dogs nip at your achilles tendons. Children point and laugh. Being a runner isn't easy, and only other runners understand.
Now, with a high IF race the circumstances are reversed. One can cruise for miles down generally off-limit streets and highways, over forbidden bridges and through yellow and red lights with impunity while uniformed and armed police officers protect the way and keep long lines if irate motorists at bay at intersection after intersection. Thousands of friends and curious bystanders line the route and clap and cheer and say "lookin' good!" All dogs are securely tethered and threatening bikers are quickly dispatched. Even the stalled motorists, already late for wherever they're trying to go, seem to calm down as they watch the long stream of ever-slower runners go by. Ah, what luxury! Fiesta Island could never be like this! In a big, high IF race, the runner is King (or Queen)! And to think that all this ends in a party-like atmosphere with refreshment, merriment and a chance to win prizes makes one giddy at the prospect. For a ten buck tax-deductible donation to a worthwhile charity, this surely must rank as one of the world's great entertainment bargains.
Although the course generally ranks first in the IF ratings, other aspects also count. Traffic jams, clogged city streets and the background noise of 10,000 people assembling at 6 AM generally arouses the entire community and adds to the excitement. One year, the Heart of San Diego races were started with a cannon which rattled central Coronado windows within a four-block radius at 7 AM. A similar cannon is used at the Breakers 10-mile race, but here half the energy is dissipated out into the oceanic environment. Besides, North Mission Beach residents are used to strange noises at odd hours, whereas the quiet retirement community of Coronado probably thought it was the onset of World War III. (Rumor has it that some Coronado citizens are trying to thwart all running events there, but those things never get very far.)
The Scripps Ranch 10K provides a first-rate public address system with speakers so huge they have to be transported about on a large flat-bed truck. At 6:30 AM the system is turned on (to slightly above the threshold of pain) to broadcast rock 'n' roll music to the 2,000-plus runners gathering in the streets of this quiet bedroom community. The 1985 San Diego State Homecoming 5K featured elevated metal speakers that could be heard within a six-block radius and an announcer who talked for a solid hour before the 8 AM start. No San Diego State fraternity party could get away with that level of noise, but a large run is another matter.
Take a moment to think back on the races you have enjoyed. Remember the old Mission Bay 10Ks and Fun Runs, the ones that would snarl all traffic around the Hilton Hotel and always seemed to result in important people not getting to the airport on time? Those races used to draw 3000 to 4000 people every other weekend. Alas, all the complaints finally resulted in a markedly lower IF course, and now the races are down to about one a month and only rarely exceed 1000 participants. There's still a little IF left as the race assembles and starts, but the only other enjoyment comes in intimidating non-runners off the walkway in the last mile.
The Mission Bay Marathon almost died from having the lowest IF marathon course in southern California. Fortunately, it was rescued and this year's substantially higher IF rating proved more satisfying to a much larger field. Word of the new course is spreading and next year's version should be even larger, but the IF of the last half of the course will have to be raised before it will be competitive with the other more popular San Diego races.
August 1986
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