Hopkinton organizers Michael Neece and Tim Kilduff say it’s time for a marathon museum in Hopkinton.

Source :: MetroWest Daily News
Original Publication Date :: May 08, 2011

HOPKINTON — Imagine the crack of the starter’s gun as an adrenaline-fueled pack surges forward.
Picture running with the Greek messenger Pheidippides to deliver word of a great Athenian victory for democracy. And pause to consider the physical torment endured by a body pushed 26.2 miles.
For those familiar with such moments, or at least intrigued, the Hopkinton Athletic Association and the new, affiliated 26.2 Foundation envision building a $10.9 million, 15,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility: The Marathon Museum and Hall of Fame.

Proponents say the tentatively planned nonprofit attraction could bring in provide a 50,000 visitors a year and finally help the region make the most of hosting the world’s most famous 26.2-mile race – the Boston Marathon.
“I think the potential is enormous,” said Sen. Karen Spilka, an Ashland Democrat who is co-chairman of the Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies and helped create the fledgling MetroWest Tourism and Visitors Bureau. “I think it would be an integral part of putting MetroWest on the map.”
Spilka secured a $250,000 state tourism grant in 2007 for the Hopkinton Athletic Association, with $50,000 spent on a museum feasibility study and much of the rest earmarked for startup costs.

The Daily News reported on the early findings, but the association says it’s now ready to move forward and has released the document publicly for the first time.

“We can’t just let this sit anymore,” said Tim Kilduff, the association’s executive director. “We just can’t. It’s too good of an idea.”

The feasibility study from ConsultEcon in Cambridge envisions an institution that showcases the world of marathons, open at least eight months a year.

A theater and interactive exhibits would convey the history and experience of the sport, including a chance to design personal shoes and outfits and to use an electronic globe to visit races at home and abroad.

One museum section would capture the sights and sounds of the annual visit by elite Kenyan runners to Hopkinton’s Elmwood Elementary School. Artifacts, photos and videos would commemorate annual inductees into the hall of fame. And rotating displays would provide fresh perspectives.

In the lobby, marathon banners would hang over embedded footprints of famous runners, with a commanding view of the Boston Marathon course depending on the location.

Three sites have already been studied in Hopkinton, each presenting drawbacks with parking, construction or expandability: an East Main Street farmhouse at Legacy Farms, a home at 1 Ash St. off Town Common, and the nearby Center School, targeted for replacement until voters rejected the proposal.

The association wants to place the museum along the MetroWest section of the Boston Marathon course – Ashland, Framingham, Natick and Wellesley – but is particularly keen on its hometown and Hopkinton’s starting line.

Town leaders have talked about capitalizing on the Marathon for years, with a temporary downtown exhibit offered on race weekend and a festival of local stores that has waxed and waned in scope and ambition. Already, Hopkinton hosts two Marathon statues and a flame from its sister city of Marathon, Greece.

“It seems to be in every other sentence,” said Bob McGuire, president of the Hopkinton Chamber of Commerce. “I really think (the museum) will bring more people to town.”

Across the state, $14.4 billion is spent on tourism each year, including $1.9 billion from international visitors.
“I see (the museum) as a real opportunity for us to fit into the larger tourism picture in Massachusetts,” said Rep. Carolyn Dykema, D-Holliston. “Why shouldn’t MetroWest have a share of those tourism dollars?”

Dykema and Spilka pointed to the possibility of enhancing public transportation from Boston to draw carless tourists. The museum could also be packaged with other regional attractions. The consultant suggested a tour bus running along the Marathon course from Boston hotels.

“I think the rationale for the museum is strong,” said Thomas Martin of ConsultEcon, whose firm has worked on the New England Aquarium, Zoo New England and other attractions around the world. “I think there’s some innate interest.”

On the whole, marathoners are a higher-income crowd, and between 1980 and 2010 the number of finishers in domestic races jumped 255 percent, from 143,000 to 507,000, according to Running USA. In 2009, shoppers spent at least $2.3 billion on running shoes and $883 million on apparel, the nonprofit group says.

While Martin doesn’t envision every last runner coming to the museum, it would sit within an hour’s drive of 5.8 million residents, tapping into broader themes ranging from human mechanics to nutrition and drawing both school groups and casual fans with its programs and exhibits.

“It’s got to have socially redeeming value, and it’s got to have more than just 50 pairs of running shoes,” Kilduff said. “You have to have real value for this to have legs over the long term.”

Already, Marathon organizer Boston Athletic Association offers exhibits in its offices, as does the Sports Museum of New England in the Celtics’ arena.

Existing marathon museum sites include Berlin and Marathon, Greece, and there are halls of fame in New York City for track and field and in Utica, N.Y., for long-distance running. It’s unclear how active Utica is, however, as organizers did not respond to an inquiry and the last induction came in 2006.

For the marathon museum, which would be setup as a non-profit organization, the study projects $1.7 million in annual costs – not including repairs and upgrades – covered by $1.3 million in ticket sales, concessions, merchandise and memberships and another half a million in yearly fundraising and corporate sponsorship.
But it also warns about the tough climate and of visitor expectations raised by technology. The Hopkinton association also worries about treading carefully as it seeks to find new members, build partnerships worldwide and recruit a professional fundraiser without stepping on any toes.

“If there’s a public fight, this thing will die,” association President Michael Neece said.

But Boston Athletic Association President Tom Grilk said his group has talked about pursuing some kind of museum and expressed initial interest in the MetroWest idea. And Sports Museum curator Richard Johnson, the author of two books on the Marathon, pledged support.

“It’s a distance and an event that’s been embraced by the world,” he said. “I think this is overdue, actually.”