The Fabled Hills of Michigan
Jeff Gaudette tells of the local television station that always places a camera at the top of the hill near the end of the Crim Festival of Races 10-miler in Flint, Michigan, to catch the agony on runners' faces.
His recollection of conquering these hills, recounted in a December 2006 article in Running Times magazine, should remind race directors that hills can serve as a challenging attraction to a race course as well as a disincentive to runners seeking a less strenuous experience.
Heartbreak Hill, near mile 20 of the Boston Marathon, has sapped the meager energy reserves of many runners. The Sedona Half-Marathon, north of Phoenix, Arizona, leads runners along an undulating course with a 400 foot drop in the last three miles (downhill courses are often to blame for knee and leg injuries).
Some races boast about their terrain. The North Shore Half-Marathon, in Highland Park, Illinois, advertises "the famous Park Avenue beach hill", a steep incline at mile 9 that is sandwiched in the middle of five miles of rolling landscape.
If you think hills will entice runners to register for your event, plot them along the course and be sure everyone knows what to expect. If your market isn't keen on a tough race, chart a course as flat as possible - and be sure everyone knows what to expect.
Don't use any tongue-in-cheek humor in your entry forms, as one race did when advertising its hilly course as fast and flat. Be honest and promote what you consider to be the assets of your event.