After 25 years of the Crazylegs Classic, race organizers are planning two major changes for the April 29 run.
This year, racers will bypass State Street due to construction on the 300 and 400 blocks. The five-mile course will begin at the Capitol Square and will continue onto Langdon Street, ending as usual at Camp Randall.
The other major change for the Crazylegs Classic affects the start of the run. Rather than all participants beginning at once, runners will begin in timed waves.
Groups of about 300 runners will begin the race every one to two minutes to prevent congestion. Starting times will be determined using previous race times. Those without prior times can enter the race any time after 36 minutes. Essentially, the fastest runners will begin the race first and the walkers will begin the race last.
I think waves will be a good thing,\ UW-Madison sophomore and runner Chris Fernstrom said. ""It will be less crowded when you are running and will allow the race not to bottleneck when there are sharp turns.""
Terry Murawski, executive director of the National W Club, which is organizing the race, said the changes would help the event run more smoothly.
Concerning the State Street bypass, Murawski said Langdon Street would be just as energetic as State Street has been in the past.
""I've met with presidents of the fraternities and sororities and asked them to play some music on Langdon Street and to come out and cheer for the runners,"" Murawski said. ""We hope it has a nice little campus flavor to it.""
Scott Schuetter, race coordinator for the UW-Madison Running Club, agreed that the changes would help the event.
""I think that sending off people in groups will probably help because it has always been really congested at the start,"" Schuetter said, ""I usually go out in about a 10-minute mile for the first mile because that's how slow it is.""
Last year, 9,300 people registered for the race and 7,889 finished. An additional 4,000 people participated in the two-mile fun walk. For this year's event, Murawski predicts up to 15,000 participants.
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