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Spontaneous Marathon Races. Could an Idea like this work?

3 points by hotmind ↗ HN
Ever thought of running a marathon, but the race date or location didn't jibe?

Do nagging injuries prevent you from ever getting to the starting line?

Are you feeling great TODAY, and would love to run a marathon TODAY?

Then DO IT. Be a random runner!

Tell randomrunners.com about your need for speed, the distance and route, and we'll tell running enthusiasts far and wide about your impromptu race. You can set up a marathon as quick as one hour (depending on the area).

Meet new people, stay in shape, and finally check "run a marathon" off your life's to do list!

11 comments

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hotmind
That's the ad hoc pitch for the idea I got about 30 minutes ago in the shower. I registered a couple of domain names and now I'd like to get some input from the HN clan.

Could this work? If so, what are the minimum amount of features I'll need for launch?

davidw
Don't think most people are interested in picking up and running 42k at the drop of a hat. Maybe something more like finding running partners?
hotmind
Thanks David. I should probably survey a runners forum next.
davidw
Yeah, I certainly can't say I know much of anything about running. I do know cycling though, and I don't really get the appeal of saying "hey, I'm going to go do a really long ride". I think I'd either just do it, or not. Organized rides or races are more fun though: you have company and infrastructure which makes it different from simple going out and riding some huge distance.
hotmind
Random Runners would add a social and competitive element to the runs too. You could announce "hey, if anyone wants to run 26.2 today, I'll be at the Java Cafe on Fifth st. and Main at 3pm." Random Runners could report on the outcome of the race and even have a leader board.
jeebusroxors
I think you're close but I'll agree with David. A marathon is not something that many people will just go do.

Training for a marathon may be the better route? These are often shorter runs (<10miles) during the week and 1 long run (<20miles) once a week. These are a bit shorter and occur more often which means more accessibility.

How about an interface for creating/managing a marathon/race?

sdfx
Running a marathon is hard - really hard. Most people need month to train for a marathon and only run maybe 70% of the distance during training. A designated city marathon offers a lot of benefits that you don't get when running alone:

  - Blocked streets, no need to wait for traffic lights etc.
  - They are at a specific date in the future which helps
    you by setting a deadline to get in shape
  - Spectators to cheer you on
  - No matter how fast/slow you are, there are hundreds of
    people around you, running at the same speed
I don't know about you, but even people who run regularly are physically not able to run a marathon tomorrow or next week. So how many people are in your area who are able to run a marathon and are just as fast as you are?

OTOH: What about a site to set up "running groups". You specify a track/expected time and how often and when the group is running (monthly, twice a week etc.). This way you give people a way to organize groups, let them communicate if they are unable to show up, talk outside of a running context etc.

You might want to look into similar sites. Off the top of my head I know of runmap.net and mapmyrun.com but there are probably a lot more like this.

hotmind
Perhaps runmap.net and mapmyrun.com, along with realtime platforms like Twitter could be leveraged as part of RandomRunner's service?
sdfx
Sure, I think runmap.net especially offers a great mapping-tool and a good way to discover new tracks, but leaves a lot to be desired in the community area. If you could combine great maps with Twitter (Sending messages like: I just ran X miles in Y minutes RandomRunner.com/runID) and a platform to talk to other runners it could be quite a nice service. Don't know how open for integration these two other sites are.

I thought about something similar a while back, but decided against it when I saw the existing sites. I would love to see/use such a service though.

HeyLaughingBoy
I don't know about marathons since I'm not much of a runner. But I have thought for a while that a spontaneous "meetup" site for normally solo sports would be a great idea.

e.g., say I like kayaking but normally prefer to do it alone. Today I'd really like to do it with someone else maybe for company or because I want backup on a tricky part of the river but none of my friends like kayaks. Go online and find 2-3 people in the area who are free and want to do it.

There are times I'd pay for something like this.

hotmind
RandomRacers.com was available last I checked ;-)