New Year’s Day rush
The race to register on line for the Air Force Marathon on Jan. 1 has broken records for several years. Here’s a look at past numbers.
Jan. 1, 2014: 5,872
Jan. 1, 2013: 5,100
Jan. 1, 2012: 4,434
Jan. 1, 2011: 2,159
Jan. 1, 2010: 1,028
SOURCE: Air Force Marathon
New Year’s Day rush
The race to register on line for the Air Force Marathon on Jan. 1 has broken records for several years. Here’s a look at past numbers.
Jan. 1, 2014: 5,872
Jan. 1, 2013: 5,100
Jan. 1, 2012: 4,434
Jan. 1, 2011: 2,159
Jan. 1, 2010: 1,028
SOURCE: Air Force Marathon
The Air Force Marathon set a one-day record for registrations Jan. 1., topping more than 5,800 people who jockeyed online to be among a crowd of thousands in this year’s races.
The dash to sign-up reached a peak of 5,872, Marathon Director Rob Aguiar, said Thursday.
“We were hoping for a little bump, because that’s what history tells us, but I am surprised that we almost hit 6,000,” he said.
A year earlier, the previous record was set when 5,100 people registered on Jan. 1, 2013, he said.
Runners in seven countries and 49 states signed up Wednesday, Aguiar said.
Sid Busch, of Goose Creek, S.C., counted down the minutes to register online.
He was part of a group on the marathon’s Facebook page who watched and waited on New Year’s Eve to sign up as soon as they could after midnight for the full and half marathons or 10K races on Sept. 20 and a 5K race on Sept. 19.
“It’s kind of become a tradition over the last few years,” said Busch, who has run more than 190 marathons from England to New Zealand during more than three decades. “This is our way of welcoming in the New Year.”
The 67-year-old retired Navy senior chief petty officer runs marathons in memory of fallen service members across the country. The Air Force Marathon is attractive to runners for many reasons, he said. They enjoy jogging through a gauntlet of historic planes and receiving a medal from a senior Air Force leader like a general, he said.
The races are capped at 15,000 runners, and each spot had sold out by late June in 2013, Aguiar said. The main course runs through Wright-Patterson and downtown Fairborn.
Early registrants on New Year’s Day save $10 on registration costs for the full and half marathon and $5 for the 10K and 5K contests.
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