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Cellcom Green Bay Marathon loses Lambeau lap

Posted by Tom Held of the Journal Sentinel on Oct. 26, 2011

running, marathons

Construction on the south end of Lambeau Field will deprive runners in the 2012 Cellcom Green Bay Marathon their celebratory lap inside the stadium, in the final mile of the annual races.

As one participant described it, the run through the tunnel and around the field was the "super awesome" part of the event.

Race director Sean Ryan expects the lack of a Lambeau lap will keep some runners from picking the Green Bay race, one of many options for a spring marathon in Wisconsin.

In 2011, the half-marathon had a field of 5,500, and the full marathon drew 2,500. Those numbers helped the event raise and donate $129,000 to local charities.

How much the change in course will affect the pace of registrations for the marathon's 13th year is impossible to guess, Ryan said. He hopes the numbers at the start line on May 20 will match the 8,000 total turnout in 2011.

With the course change, Ryan said the marathon actually would have more capacity. Funneling the mass of bodies through the player tunnel was one of the main factors behind the cap on the races, which filled three monnths before race day.