Mike's Marathon Blog

23138 is my bib number for the 114th Boston Marathon. I’m an official participant.

Now that I have my number, I wanted to include some information on how to keep track of my progress during the race:

• TEXT – Simply text the word RUNNER to 31901 using your US mobile phone. You will then receive an sms text response with instructions on how to submit a runner’s bib number. (Message and data rates may apply. You will be opted in to receive four messages during the race. Send STOP to quit. Available on participating carriers AT&T, Alltel, Boost, Nextel, Sprint, T-Mobile, US Cellular, Verizon and Virgin.)
• EMAIL – Continue to the registration page for the AT&T Athlete Alert program on the race website. Sign-up using your mobile phone number for SMS text message updates, or by entering an email address for email updates.

If you register a mobile phone online, you will receive a message asking you to confirm your intention to receive updates from the 2010 Boston Marathon AT&T Athlete Alert Program. Once you’ve completed registration for AT&T Athlete Alert, you will receive text updates courtesy of AT&T and the Boston Marathon when your runner has crossed the following points on the course:

Starting line
10K
Half-Marathon
30K
Finish

http://registration.baa.org/2010/cf/RegAthleteAlert/pg_AthleteAlert.cfm?mode=entry

If you happen to be in front of a computer on Marathon Monday, you can simply go to http://www.bostonmarathon.org/ and type in my bib number to see my location on the course. I should cross the starting line around 10:45 a.m.

I was actually just on the website and came across some very interesting information. In terms of on-site media coverage, the Boston Marathon ranks behind only the Super Bowl as the largest single day sporting event in the world. More than 1,100 media members, representing more than 250 outlets, receive credentials annually. There’s some other great stuff on the website. Check it out if you get a chance.