Covering a marathon

[MTM]

I'm looking for tips on covering a marathon. It is a fundraiser for a charity, so I don't expect it to be ultracompetitive, or fast.
The best art is probably at the start (I'm shooting it as well), but the best stories will likely be at the end.
I really don't want to spend 3-4 hours there, since it's a somewhat low-paying freelance gig.
Any tips?

 

[RickStain]

Stories at the end can be tough. Those guys can be in pretty bad shape.

 

[Shaggy]

Grabbing the winner is good. Grabbing the few guys who dressed in an outrageous costume is always fun. Go grab the race director, get quotes from him/her, ask him/her if there are any interesting stories regarding the racers that he/she is aware of (someone running their 100th marathon, someone 4 weeks removed from giving birth, etc). Get contact info for the race director ahead of time because they can be hard to find at the event itself. Warn them ahead of time you might want 5 minutes of their time.

But as far as going out on the course and trying to "cover" it? Don't. If you're doing art and a story, go shoot the beginning of the race, go home and take a nap for an hour or two, then go back to the finish line. The first guy to cross is usually good art too.

Marathons are hard to cover, but they can be fun. I went to our local marathon for a column idea I had and watched people cross the finish line for two hours, writing about what people did as they crossed after running 26.2 miles, many for the first time ever. A lot of people kiss their spouse they run with, some get down on hands and knees and crawl across, some break down and cry, etc.

The sense of accomplishment they have is inspiring, and it was a very well-received piece. It was one of my favorite stories I've done.

 

[DanOregon]

Find someone running their first marathon ahead of time - get some stuff pre-race - make sure you can connect with them after the race - maybe get a few people like this (inspirational stories etc.).
Covered one once and got to ride in the "press van" - other than being able to write down at what mile-marker the eventual winner took the lead - there wasn't that much benefit to it.
Maybe interview some volunteers as well. Art at a water station should be good. And make sure you call organizers before you press "send" on your story to make sure nobody died during the race.

 

[Shaggy]

The race is too long for a press van to make much of a difference. Press vans are great for competitive 5K races, but marathon stories can't be loaded with details on when the winner made his move.

Marathons are generally a participation event and the story is not that one guy beat 10,000 losers. It's a capture-the-atmosphere story and a chance to write about a few snowflakes in the crowd. But you SHOULD mention who won, of course, and maybe get a quick quote about how he did it.

 

[Michael_ Gee]

I covered maybe 20 plus Boston Marathons, but of course that was always a team event for the paper. If you're one guy writing multiple stories AND shooting photos, my advice is to just get as many different people's names in your copy as possible. Not to be harsh, but the people most likely to read a marathon story are the participants and their loved ones. This way, you make as high a percentage of them as possible.

 

[playthrough]

Forget the idea of being there only 3-4 hours. Like others said, you gotta have the winner but the color of the story is in the midpackers, the stragglers, the clowns, etc. And you will have to wait out a few at the finish while they gather themselves. I enjoyed covering marathons, but had to make my peace with the absurdly early wakeup calls and the long days.

Also don't leave without some kind of results printout and/or a way to get them promptly online.

 

[Batman]

Also don't leave without some kind of results printout and/or a way to get them promptly online.

This is a small thing, but if you mention how many people participated be sure to compare the final results to the registration numbers. There's always people who register, get their goody bags and then don't run. Or they pre-register and then don't show because the weather is bad or they overslept or whatever. If the race director says 1,000 people registered, it's not uncommon for only 800 or 900 to run.

 

[Blitz]

Our staff covered the Run Through History in Vicksburg, Mississippi and it's a situation where you do tons of pre-race features then just go hang out on race day but don't try to get out on the course.
One of the stories can sort of spotlight the sponsors.
Get the winners and ask them about key points on the course. Throw in weather conditions or other intangibles and the story will write itself.

 

[bob]

I've covered a couple. you need to station yourself at the finish line. if you need the winner, get there early to see him finish--and then give him a chance to recover before talking to him. if you're looking for a local guy to feature, find someone wearing a shirt that has his hometown or some other local affiliation printed on it. if you're just looking to do a piece on the charity/fun aspect of the race, heck, you can talk to anybody. it's actually a pretty easy gig.

 

[Pencil Dick]

My only advice is that if the marathon winner speaks halting English or none at all, ASK YOUR QUESTIONS IN A REALLY LOUD VOICE!!

Also, stop off and grab a box of Krispy Kremes and eat them all as the runners take off.

 

[Mediator]

Covering a marathon is a lot like doing a fan story. You need lots of voices, quotes about why people are running, and then get the results. I usually quoted the top male and top female, and tried to get an age group winner or two. After that, you just want good stories, which you should be able to get from a charity event. Try to write the heck out of the scene. I'd lead with best story, results, scene and then a graph or two from each of the other runners with a good story.

You really only need to be there for the end. The winners won't finish in under 2 hours, probably closer to 3 judging from what you said about the level of competition. Call the race director before the race but you should be able to get the rest of the facts on site. Unless you are doing a preview, calling the day before will give you a lot of stuff you'll never have space to write.

 

[spud]

Never covered a marathon but I have covered a few triathlons. Don't feel like you have to be there as soon as the lead pack crosses. There's usually some kind of award ceremony, and you'll be kicking yourself for getting there early just to watch the stragglers come in as you await the official times. The winners will be milling around, just go find them.

The toughest is finding winners in a race crowd of 700 when all you know is the number on their race bib. "Hey, where's 476?!"

 

[SoccerFan]

For a marathon like this, I'd paint the scene at the beginning of the race (the smiles, the terror, the upbeat attitudes, the good intentions) and then compare it with the scene at the end of the marathon (the blisters, agony, a few smiles, etc.). Remember a few of the more colorful characters from the beginning, then talk with them at the end. Since it's unrealistic to follow them throughout, ask them to give you a blow-by-blow of the 26 miles in the middle, then weave into your reporting from the beginning and end. Then get a quote from the top male and female.
At least that's how I would do it for a non-competitive one.

 

[SixToe]

Get a box of Krispy Kremes, hitch a ride in the pace car/van and watch everyone in the race hating you while you're eating the donuts.

 

[cluelesswonder]

the one marathon i covered, i rode in the lead car. it was useful, actually -- it was a first-time race (on an open course, no less), and it was interesting to see how disorganized the damn thing was, with people going off course, a car nearly running over the leader, etc. we had another guy doing a color piece, so that meant my job was more to write about the race.

some marathons are loops. if that's the case and there is a spot in town where the course comes near a couple times, station yourself there.

 

[flexmaster33]

Contact the race organizers...often times they will have details on some interesting people that may be running, then you can set up a side interview perhaps.

What not to do...put on your jogging shoes, wrap a camera around your neck and try to get interviews during the race. Leave moronic stuff like that to the TV people.

 

[Jesus_Muscatel]

I'm looking for tips on covering a marathon. .
Any tips?

Plenty, MTM, but most of 'em are illegal.

 

[e_bowker]

Speaking of covering marathons in cars, I got a story about that.
A few years ago, we had a local guy who was trying to run 50 marathons in 50 days in 50 states. He was finishing up in Biloxi, Mississippi, since he was doing it as part personal challenge and part raising awareness for Katrina relief (he had been doing volunteer work on the coast). We're a few hours away, but it was the summer and we had been doing updates on his progress so the paper sent me down there for his last run.

The guy is starting at dawn on a Saturday, so the wife and I went down and spent the night on the Coast on Friday. We wake up around 4:30, drive an hour to Biloxi, and catch up with the guy and his pack of local runners a few miles in.
And then we follow them, at 10 mph, for the next 90 minutes. My wife, alternating between sleep and rage, asks me every 10 minutes why we had to wake up so damn early to follow the guy. Not having a good answer, I suggest she go back to sleep. It's a suggestion that didn't go over well.
Eventually, we wandered into town for breakfast and a bathroom break, and caught up to the guy again a couple miles from the finish line. The wife asks why I couldn't have done that in the first place. Not having a good answer, I tell her at least we can go home now.
So, the lesson is, if you're following a marathon in a car you'd best bring a book or a loaded iPod.

 

[BYH]

Speaking of covering marathons in cars, I got a story about that.
A few years ago, we had a local guy who was trying to run 50 marathons in 50 days in 50 states. He was finishing up in Biloxi, Mississippi, since he was doing it as part personal challenge and part raising awareness for Katrina relief (he had been doing volunteer work on the coast). We're a few hours away, but it was the summer and we had been doing updates on his progress so the paper sent me down there for his last run.

The guy is starting at dawn on a Saturday, so the wife and I went down and spent the night on the Coast on Friday. We wake up around 4:30, drive an hour to Biloxi, and catch up with the guy and his pack of local runners a few miles in.
And then we follow them, at 10 mph, for the next 90 minutes. My wife, alternating between sleep and rage, asks me every 10 minutes why we had to wake up so damn early to follow the guy. Not having a good answer, I suggest she go back to sleep. It's a suggestion that didn't go over well.
Eventually, we wandered into town for breakfast and a bathroom break, and caught up to the guy again a couple miles from the finish line. The wife asks why I couldn't have done that in the first place. Not having a good answer, I tell her at least we can go home now.
So, the lesson is, if you're following a marathon in a car you'd best bring a book or a loaded iPod.

Not nearly the same as covering a marathon with your wife, but when I was still living at home, I dragged my future wife to a 5- or 7-mile race at 10 am New Years Day. We weren't party animals by any stretch, but still, who the **** wants to get up at 8 am New Years Day to NOT cover a road race? She still pulls that story out from time to time.

As for story ideas, this is probably out since MTM understandably doesn't want to stick around for hours and hours, but a story about the last-place finisher is almost guaranteed to be good (as long as that person doesn't crawl across the finish line puking and ****ting all over him/herself, of course). Those who stick it out that long usually expect to finish last, or somewhere thereabouts, go about the race at a real easy pace and take great joy in having just run the race.

At one place I worked, a co-worker wrote a really good story about the last-place finishers in a 7-mile race...three old ladies who crossed the finish line arm in arm in arm. They wanted to run it together and finish it together, and there wasn't anybody happier that day than those three.