S.F. Marathon to offer new course, elite status

The metamorphosis of the Sioux Falls Marathon continues.

A new course with new starting and finishing points has been in the works for months, and the final approval of the design is almost official. The route passed inspection from the Sioux Falls Police Department, and it should be certified as a Boston Marathon qualifier in early August.

The marathon and half-marathon races are Sept. 13.

In the past, both races have begun at Howard Wood Field and finished at Sertoma Park. This year, both races will begin at the Denny Sanford Premier Center and finish on the track at Howard Wood, with runners given a straightaway path to the finish line, facing the video board at the stadium.

Organizers also have added an elite runner program to the marathon and half-marathon, a further attempt to make the race more attractive to both serious and casual runners.

“Elite programs are common at larger marathons, but we’ve never done one before,” said race director Wes Hall. “We want to highlight the best runners we have in our city.”

Runners selected as “elite” will receive free registration and a free meal the night before the race. To qualify, runners must meet a qualifying time, but that alone doesn’t get them in. The marathon puts out an application, and runners who meet the qualifying times will be selected on a case-by-case basis, based on a variety of factors. And they must be from Sioux Falls.

The qualifying times for the marathon are 3 hours, 15 minutes for men and 3 hours, 45 minutes for women. Those times correspond to the Boston Marathon qualifying times for men and women ages 40-44. That was intentional, Hall said.

For the half-marathon, the Sioux Falls qualifying elite times are 1 hour, 25 minutes for men and 1 hour, 35 minutes for women. Runners can apply on the marathon’s website, siouxfallsmarathon.com.

“It’s just a great way to recognize our elites in Sioux Falls,” Hall said. “We want to raise the level of running within our community and the awareness of the athletes we have running among us.”

As for the race’s certification, Hall isn’t expecting any roadblocks.

“It’ll be an actual course measurement — they’ll go out with a bike and measure the distance of the route to the foot,” Hall said. “If we’re long or short on either the half or the full, then we have to make adjustments to the route. The good news is we have some residential areas on the courses where we can go one block over or cut one out if we need to. We’ll make sure we’re at 13.1 and 26.2 exactly.”

Runners must compete on certified courses to qualify for the Boston Marathon and other events such as the Olympic Trials.