Last week, Running USATF published a list of the largest running events.  Four of the top five marathons are held on courses that are either difficult or under usually warm running conditions.

Sometimes you want to assume that runners would prefer a marathon course based on the possibility of a fast time. As I look farther down the list it looks like the majority of runners are choosing their marathons on another set of criteria.

Last year, the New York City Marathon had the most finishers with 31,834 just barely edging out Chicago. New York's course is very challenging. It has far more hills, usually from bridges, than Detroit.  Some of its success derives from national exposure, fabulous crowds and prestige.

Boston, more then most marathons I've run, beats you up pretty bad. I consider it a fast course because its first 10 miles are gradually down hill as well as the last four. But the course has the Newton Hills three quarters of the way through which wrecks havoc on your quads and hamstrings. Still Boston is the Mecca. Missing out on Boston when you've qualified is like skipping the Indy 500.

By comparison, Detroit has a flatter and potentially faster course than both of these races. The Ambassador Bridge and Detroit/Windsor Tunnel offer the only real inclines. With solid crowd and corporate support it could rise to national prominence.

Running a marathon isn't just about fast times and big participation, especially for first timers. The overall experience brings people back. Minnesota has two wonderful marathons. Grandma's in Duluth and the Twin Cities will never have big numbers because they restrict the number of entrants. Several other major marathons also do this, in part because the roads, start, finish and water station areas can only accommodate so many people. Also, hotel space often plays a part in the ability to put up big numbers.

Elevation charts can be deceiving. I was surprised that the water level at Detroit's Ambassador Bridge and Tunnel is more than 500 feet above sea level. The Tuscan and St. George Marathon's start at around 5000 feet and drop almost 2000 feet. They can be super fast but you better be prepared for the altitude and different way of pounding the pavement.

Software is now available to show a fairly accurate picture of a course's undulations. But if you plug in the numbers by taking the high point or low point of each mile, you can get a totally different picture of a race course. This also holds true for the scale of the Y axis. If you measure in units of 50 feet it will look a lot different then every 250 feet.

Training Run: The last 5 miles of the Freep marathon course. 9/25 at 6:15 pm with the Downtown Runners for free. Meet at Stoney Creek Brewery 237 Jos Campeau. For more information call M-F at 313-965-2770 from 10-5. At all other times call 248-356-0825.

Post Marathon Party also at the Stoney Creek Brewery. After Noon on October, 5^th.