On Sunday, more than 20,000 people will be running their feet through the Marine Corps Marathon.
A fair number of these people already have been running their fingers on their keyboards for months, hooking into the ever-burgeoning social networking opportunities the Marines are eager to promote.
“We have rolled out several social media initiatives this year,” said Marc Goldman, the marathon’s sponsorship and marketing manager. “Of course, the first was our Finisher Web site, launched three years ago. It is an individualized Web page for each finisher built in partnership with MarathonFoto. [It] includes each runner’s finisher data plus their photos.
“Last year we added [the] message board to the runners’ pages. This year we have added the linking capability to share on social media sites.”
With the preponderance of first-timers (11,252 first-time marathon runners and 20,802 first-time Marine Corps Marathon participants among the 30,000 entries accepted) and the huge percentage of charity runners entered, it is not surprising that many of the social networking sites the Marines have created have postings from newbies looking for advice or feedback. The sites feature information on issues related to running, questions on race-day logistics and discussion on the three deaths during a recent half-marathon in Detroit.
What is new this year is the Marine Corps Marathon’s official Facebook page and its Twitter feed - Marine_Marathon.
“We’ve used the pages as a traditional media end-around, to borrow a football term, in order to communicate directly with our runners,” Goldman said. “The messages are less formal than press releases and offer behind-the-scenes glimpses into the organization of the event.”
Many of the Facebook page postings are from the self-described first-timers and entrants publicizing the cause for which they are running. Others like Pamela Jacobs Hutchinson chose to make predictions on their finishing times.
“Hoping for under 5 but will probably do 5:30. Must beat Katie Holmes 5:29!!!” she posted.
The most recent Twitter postings from officials at the race include a reminder for runners to purchase a one-day Metro pass, a link to a live stream from the course and updates about how the race organization is coming together.
The Remote Runner Tracker allows fans to monitor their friends’ progress around the 26.2-mile course. The tracker sends alerts to cell phones, pagers and even BlackBerrys as runners move across the timing mats at the start and finish and every five kilometers around the course.
Then there is the Spectator Shout Out Contest, where a runner or supporter writes in a message to be read by the announcer at the starting line directed at a specific runner.
“While the Web site is a static presentation of the event, we view the social media outlets as a fluid, more personal interaction with the MCM,” Goldman said.
Friends, family and spectators from around the world can even watch live on-course action on race day through www.flir.com/usmc.
More traditional communication also will be used on race day. A special edition of “SportsRise” on Comcast SportsNet will feature live coverage of the race start from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m., with cut-ins from the course throughout the day.
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