Politics & Government

Marathon and a Half for Brookline: Half-Marathon Returns, Team Brookline for 2013?

Boston Athletic Association speaks to the Selectmen about the 2012 Half-Marathon. Selectmen talk about a proposed Team Brookline in the 2013 Boston Marathon.

Tuesday's Board of Selectmen meeting was a marathon-and-a-half this week, as they spoke with a representative of the Boston Athletic Association (BAA) about two upcoming activities: the 2012 Half-Marathon and the 2013 Boston Maraton.

Half-Marathon

The BAA's half-marathon is returning to Brookline, Oct. 7, which is also Columbus Day weekend. 

The program . The course starts and ends in Franklin Park, and travels along the Emerald necklace past Jamaica Pond and along Olmsted Park in Brookline. The first runners are expected to hit Brookline at around 9:30 a.m.

Find out what's happening in Brooklinewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

BAA Race Director Josh Nemzer told the board, "we’re very excited: the half-marathon sold out in record time."

There were 7000 runner slots, which Nemzer says sold out in less than 6 hours. 

Find out what's happening in Brooklinewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

See the video to the right for tips for running the Half-Marathon, and check the BAA website for more tips.

If you are training for the Half-Marathon, let us know in the comments or e-mail editor Grahame Turner.

Team Brookline 

The Board is also looking at forming a Team Brookline to run in next year's Boston Marathon, managed by a single non-profit organization in town.

"What we are proposing is to have, for the 2013 Marathon, a group of charitable runners who will be recruited by a managing organization," Selectman Chair Betsy DeWitt explained. 

The town receives a group of marathon racing numbers each year. Under the new proposal, this managing organization would recruit, train and support runners from a number of charitable organizations. The aim is to make a more community-wide program, which town officials feel is in line with the BAA's charitable program.

The drafted proposal requires interested organizations to be 501(c)(3) community based organizations. Interested runners must be able to complete the course within 6 hours, and will have to raise an amount of money set by the Selectmen.

At their July 24 meeting, the Board sought a proposal from the on what it would take to create and manage a team in Brookline. The Mental Health Center is also in the running to be the managing organization. 

In the past, Town Administrator Mel Kleckner said, the Center has been given more or all of the numbers--this would change that a little.

"Instead of seeing this as taking away from them, they were very proactive in explaining to us what it takes to run an operation like this," Kleckner added. 

Selectman Ken Goldstein is optimistic that this approach will also create a new level of community partnership between some of these organizations. 

BAA Rep Josh Nemzer agreed, saying, "If you put together an enterprise, it’s a really good opportunity to maximize valuable resources."

While Nemzer was at the meeting to talk about the Half-Marathon, he did stick around to hear the Team Brookline proposal, which he says is, "Clearly on the right track, the challenges will be on the specific way you apply it."

"I'm very glad to see this." Selectman Jesse Mermell commented, "Sometimes it’s a struggle, they are scrambling at the last minute to find someone who is in phyiscal fitness condition to run a marathon three or four months down the road."

The proposal still has to be completed and approved before runners can apply for Team Brookline.


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