LIBERTY WATERFRONT IS MOVING ON DOWN TO NEWPORT TOWN SQUARE
For as many years as the Liberty Waterfront Half Marathon has been held, which will be a dozen with this year’s edition on Sunday, September 25th, the course has always had a few surprises. Construction along the 13.1 mile course has each year forced changes along its route. It will be no different this year, but the change to the course is in no small part due to the relocation of the entire operation from the Harborside Financial Center in Jersey City to the Newport Town Square, also in Jersey City.
It’s a change that has similarities to the old site where the registration was a city block from the start and finish of the race. in the 2005 edition, registration will take place at the Newport Mall, a block or two away from Newport Town Square.
“It’s a bit of a walk, but not much more than from the old registration to the start line,” said race director Dan Brannen of Morris Township.
Brannen explained that there will be extensive signage to direct runners to the mall for registration from the North Garage of Washington Street, and from registration to the actual start.
“Everything’s within a couple of blocks,” said Brannen. “You have to walk about one long block to registration from the parking garage and then walk two blocks in from registration to the race site. It’s no greater than in previous years.”
As for the changes to the race course, Brannen was sure the runners would like the improvements.
“The course in Liberty State Park is mostly the same,” he said. “We’ve removed about two miles from Liberty State Park, and that two miles is now going to be added by going up and down Washing Street in Jersey City. The first few miles of the course will be the same as the Newport 10,000.”
“It’s a part of the course that used to be done in earlier years,” said Brannen. “It was eliminated and is now back again. We go up closer to the entrance to the Holland Tunnel and then back down and into the park.”
“We feel it’s actually better in the park because we have eliminated one entire out-and-back section.”
Some runners had not enjoyed the number of out-and-back segments in 2004 and they may also appreciate the elimination of some of the smaller little loops.
“It’s a simpler course and more straight forward with fewer turns,” said Brannen. “It also has less impact on the general public in Liberty State Park.”
The last mile of the course is right along the waterfront walk and is almost identical to the last mile of the Newport 10,000.
“It’s finally the Liberty Waterfront Run,” said Brannen, emphasizing “waterfront”.
Participants will appreciate the ambiance of the Newport Town Square according to Brannen. “It’s really nice with nice restaurant there. The whole atmosphere and the renaissance and the rebuilding of Jersey City is very apparent,” he said.
While the runners may appreciate the ambiance after the race, the focus will first be on the half marathon and the championship status in all divisions, one of only three road races during the year that hosts all divisions in one race. The Midland Run and the USATF-NJ Ten Mile championship are the other two.
For that reason, it draws the USATF-NJ clubs that are competing in the Liberty Waterfront Team and Club Grand Prix. The Sneaker Factory is leading in the Open Women’s division and in the W40 and W50 divisions. The Morris County Striders M50 and W70 have the lead in their divisions. Because the Liberty Waterfront Half Marathon is the title sponsor of the team and club grand prix, the race adds a two point bonus to each teams score.
For the same reason, in the individual New Balance Grand Prix, the race carries a top score of 800 points, one hundred more than all other championships except the association’s ten mile championship. Another draw for the elite open and masters runners is the chance to win prize money from the substantial purse.
A 5K goes along with the half marathon and will start ten minutes after the headline race, which goes off at 8:30 a.m. More information can be found by downloading an application from the CompuScore website at www.compuscore.com.
Originally published in the DAILY RECORD of Morris County on Sunday, September 18, 2005
Copyright, Madeline Bost, 2005