EMAIL: thebizrunner@gmail.com
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How Much Would the Oprah Line Mean to the NYC Marathon?
(November 3) Recently a longstanding debate was reignited within the running community – namely – “How slow is too slow when running a marathon?”
I offered up a simple solution. One involving one of the most revered cultural figures of our time. Someone who millions of people already seek-out for advice on a variety of topics. Someone that when she gives her acceptance to a product or book, you can just start printing the money because it will sell like hotcakes. Someone so well known she only needs to go by one name. Oprah.
(For what its worth – I have it from an excellent source that Oprah is a regular reader of The Biz Runner)
For those that missed it (and Oprah would be mad to learn that you did), here is the general idea:Those that spend more time on the course, pay a higher marathon
fee. …it’s well known that Oprah ran the Marine Corps Marathon in 1994 with a time of 4:29:15. Perhaps the “Oprah Line” is the logical place to start. Institute the sliding scale of $2 in additional fees for every 15 minutes past 4:30:00 – forever now known as “THE OPRAH LINE.
I got a lot of emails on the Oprah line. So I decided to break down the numbers behind the recent New York City Marathon to see exactly how the Oprah Line would work.
Before we begin, let me point out (if you haven’t figured it out by now) that this is a totally unscientific approach. No science whatsoever. Just a running website hoping to solve a long-standing problem (and maybe land an appearance on one of the most watched talk shows in history. That would be amazing for website traffic.)
If this idea were to be seriously implemented you would need to carve out fee exceptions for the many different reasons some groups of runners stay on the course longer, such as age or physical handicap. I will leave the debate of how to fully execute the idea to more serious sites. C’mon - I offered up the idea, lets let someone else execute it. I do want credit creating the “Oprah Line” though.
OK – back to the numbers - these are based on the “Unofficial Results” as posted on the http://www.ingnycmarathon/ website. According to the results 43,512 people are listed as finishing the marathon. Of those, more than 59% beat the Oprah Line – 25,740. That includes 7 people who scraped in with a 4:29:59. Congrats to them. You’ve saved two bucks and "BO'd" the New York City Marathon.
Looking at the breakdown the rest of the way, the numbers below should be self-explanatory: the time category, the “extended time on the course fee”, the total number of runners in that category and the total fees that would be paid by runners in that group.
4:30:00-4:44:59 ($2) 4635 $9270
4:45:00-4:59:59 ($4) 4062 $16248
5:00:00-5:14:59 ($6) 2559 $15354
5:15:00-5:29:59 ($8) 1836 $14688
5:30:00-5:44:59 ($10) 1367 $13670
5:45:00-5:59:59 ($12) 1009 $12108
6:00:00-6:14:59 ($14) 645 $7740
6:15:00-6:29:59 ($16) 511 $8176
6:30:00-6:44:59 ($18) 395 $7110
6:45:00-6:59:59 ($20) 313 $6260
7:00:00-7:14:59 ($22) 113 $2486
7:15:00-7:29:59 ($24) 91 $2184
7:30:00-7:44:59 ($26) 69 $1794
7:45:00-7:59:59 ($28) 33 $924
The New York City Marathon course is open until 630pm. For purposes of this exercise I closed the course at 8 hours. Anyone finishing over 8 hours is excluded here solely for purpose of keeping the math simple. So the total raised by those failing to hit the Oprah Line is $118,000. Compared to the NYC marathon’s estimated budget of $18 million – it’s a drop in the bucket - but every little bit helps keeps the costs down for everyone.
A final note: Oprah’s producers...you can reach me at thebizrunner@gmail.com
Here's the original post: http://www.thebizrunner.com/2009/10/if-you-cant-outrun-oprah-should-you-pay.html
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