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Runners from our area and more nationwide who achieved Boston Marathon qualifying times well into the fall had their excitement tempered a bit when they went online to register for the April 2010 race.

“Registration is closed for the 2010 Boston Marathon.”

That message hit home in November. That’s two months earlier than registration closed for the 2009 race. (Qualifying times from the fall will be good for registration for the 2011 race; will open in September 2010).

So are there more Boston qualifiers? More people running marathons? More people running, period? Yes, yes and yes. And what is Boston to do?

The short answers: Registration will continue to fill quickly each year, so get in early. And there's little likelihood that the field will be expanded.

Guy Morse, the executive director of the Boston Marathon, took a few minutes by phone today to answer questions about the Boston Marathon and about the surge in the popularity of running. 

Registration for the 2010 race closed in November, more than five months before the race date. That caught some runners by surprise. What was the reason for that?

“We were predicting it would close early because that would be following the trend of other major marathons. Last year, the Boston Marathon closed in January, which was the earliest ever at that point. There were a lot of surprised people last year. This year when we opened registration in September, we made it very clear and very evident that it might continue to close out early. We tried to warn all qualifiers. We sent emails to everyone who entered and ran last year to notify them online registration had opened, as it always does in September. Then we sent a couple of reminders during the rest of September and October, to don’t wait. The trend is going to continue to close out early. We’re concerned that people might’ve been caught by surprise, but we did everything possible for people to register early and to know about it. There weren’t as many surprised people this year as compared to last year. A lot of people entered right away, in September and October. The did take our advice.”

Was this an aberration, or is the growth in popularity of marathons leading to more qualifiers?

“I think it’s both. There’s a resurgence, if you will, of marathoning in general. There are more people running, more people focusing on the marathon. We see the interest increasing once again. That seems to be the trend. It’s a testament to the popularity of running but also to the marathon.”

What do you think is causing that?

“People are realizing that fitness and running are a good outlet for whatever life’s challenges there are, including the economy. Maybe there are more people with more time to train based on their work situation. There’s a genuine acknowledgement that health is important, and running is a good way to alleviate tension or stress and also is a good lifestyle ingredient. We just see that trend as continuing. It has been for a few years now and we don’t see any letup in that. The popularity extends to half-marathons and other distances where we see a surge in participation. We also have a 5K and a half-marathon that fill up within days of registration opening.”

What effect might this have on the size of the field or qualifying standards?

“It’s an interesting position we find ourselves in. We’re up at the 25,000-runner limit now. We’ve let that creep over the past several years, from 20,000 up to 25,000. We believe in our case, and I can only speak for Boston, it’s still quality over quantity. We could easily have 30,000, 35,000, 40,000 runners. Which we’re not attempting to do. We think the quality of the run and the experience is still a priority over pure numbers. We continue to look for ways to make the event more efficient so as many people as possible can run. One response is to try to let the event grow in size, though we’re not finding that an easy solution at the moment.

“Another option is to tinker with qualifying times, which we’re not actively considering at this point. We’re looking at our systems on the ground, on site. What can we do to keep the race of high quality and allow more qualifiers in? We have more qualifiers (entered) this year than last year. We’ve pushed back on the number of invitational runners. We do have a robust charity program, but we’ve pushed back on some of that to allow more qualifiers. So we continue to look at that. That’s not to say we’re doing away with the charity program, because that’s a huge part of the success of these events. We’ll go over the $100 million mark in funds raised with the charity program this year.

“We need to balance it with the marquee element, which is the qualified runner.”

What sort of on-the-ground challenges do you face?

“Some of the newer marathons can adjust their courses. We are limited by the 114-year-old course. We’re not going to tamper with or change that in any way. That is the Boston Marathon. We have to look at what we’re doing with transportation out to the starting area. How do we process the runners out there? How do we protect them? This is a major consideration. How do we protect 25,000 runners who are out there for some period of time out there vs. the elements, such as weather? In April, we can get any type of weather known. The public safety consideration is paramount, which dictates how big the field can be. We have to be ready to protect that many people. Those, plus the general or typical race logistics, such as timing, scoring, water distribution and medical support along the course. All of these things play a role. We need to be 100 percent ready to go and up to snuff. All of those contribute to how many we can safely host on the course. Similarly, at the finish line, the processing of the runner, care of the runner post-race and the ability to make that a quality experience.

“One of the major advances was the chip technology for timing and scoring. It allowed us to radically increase the field many years ago. In 1996 for the 100th, we had 38,000 for that special event. The only reason we were able to do that was chip technology allowing for a much more efficient processing of timing and scoring. Those sorts of advances have helped these races to grow in size. But you still have the paramount public safety and medical issues to consider.”

While the popularity of marathons is on the rise for the general public, can you talk about the support you see for the country’s top runners today and how that compares to past eras, such as with Frank Shorter, Bill Rodgers and the Cuban-born Alberto Salazar?

“My answer today is different than it might’ve been five years ago. The support on a national level is coming back to where it should be and where it once was in the earlier days of the Salazars and Shorters and others. The best proof of that is the success our current American runners are now enjoying and the stars we have produced with the regional running camps around the country. Both with private support and local club support. The best exam is Meb Keflezighi winning New York after many years of a drought in terms of a U.S. winner in that race. Both Meb and Ryan Hall have been to Boston and will be running here (in April), and Ryan, too, with his success so far in our race and big races and at the various championships and the Olympics. We see a significant investment in our runners beginning to pay off. We’re starting to see results similar to what we had back in an earlier day.”

So five years from now, how do you envision that looking?

“A greater depth of runners, men and women, who have benefited by the support and are competing at the very highest levels and are enjoying success. Not just one or two or three athletes, but a dozen or more. I’d like to see depth in the U.S. runner elite category, not just one or two stars, who we are very thankful for. But success breeds success. When we have other up-and-coming runners identified right out of college, we have to give them the ability to train with the stars of today so they can become the stars of tomorrow.

“This whole process is a natural process swing from no support to something that really works. The challenge will be to continue to find the resources, whether it’s private funding or sponsorships or other corporate organizations that will step up to the plate and continue this progress, in this economy.”

Shifting gears: Bobby Christiansen, a Boston Marathon veteran from Greensboro, believes the only way he can break three hours is to take the train that runs alongside most of the course. What time do the trains run?

(Laughs). “He’s not the first one who has thought of that or done that. We don’t provide that sort of assistance.”

And how about for us poor, slow folks? Has there ever been discussion about a lottery?

“One way to meet that demand, if you will, helped fueled the charity program. If you made a commitment to a charity, you may not qualify but you’re able to take full advantage of the experience and become an official runner. We’re finding a lot of those people who don’t qualify but who do make a commitment to fundraising and do receive a number, many of the runners have become committed and decided to train more, train better and become qualified. A lot of our qualifiers we’re seeing are coming from our charity program. It’s like a farm system, like minor league and major league.”

How is your own running going?

“I’ve never run a marathon. I characterize myself as a runner but not a marathoner. I used to run about 5 miles a day, generally for my own health. I’m 58. Two years ago I had a very strange injury where I ruptured both quadricep tendons. I was wheelchair-bound, then crutches-bound for the better part of close to a year. The surgery was successful, yet the recovery took a long time. I just started running again in November, for the first time in two years. I’m motivated to get back at it, as much for the physical fitness reason as I think it’s a great psychological and mental health phenomenon to be able to run and be able to get out and enjoy the great outdoors. So I’ve had a slow road to recovery, but I’m getting there.”