TRACS Services at the Boston Marathon

TRACS has provided services to John Hancock Financial Services & WBZ-TV4 since 1985!

Race SpotWatch and the Spotters’ Network (1985-Present)
Sports Media and Broadcast

Race SpotWatch, a division of TRACS, provides WBZ-TV with media consulting services and extensive support in its live television coverage of the Boston Marathon. Race SpotWatch implements and manages the innovative Spotters’ Network, recruiting and training more than 100 local high school students to work on race day production. Working together, TRACS staff and the spotters provide inside-the-race coverage, deliver up-to-the-second information to WBZ-TV producers, on-air talent and graphics personnel. For more information about Race SpotWatch and the Spotters' Network please click here.

John Hancock Elite Athlete Village (1989-Present)
Event and Program Management

Established in 1989 and styled after the Olympic village, TRACS manages a two-week village for John Hancock-sponsored athletes, their families and agents during the Boston Marathon. In addition to recruiting, training and managing 75 volunteers, who host the athletes in the village, TRACS is responsible for overseeing all services, including housing, transportation, communication, credentials, health care, entertainment, apparel, catering services, press requests and marathon course tours.

John Hancock Marathon Challenge Training Program (1996-Present)
Coaching and Program Management

TRACS designs and manages a comprehensive marathon training program for John Hancock and ManuLife employees, including a published state-of-the-art training manual, a 24-week training schedule, a series of multimedia seminars and long runs on the Boston Marathon course. Since its inception in 1996, TRACS coaches have trained more than 1,300 employees, with over 98% successfully completing the Boston Marathon. Of those finishers, 30-40% were new to the sport of marathoning! For more information about the John Hancock Marathon Challenge, please click here.

John Hancock Running & Fitness Clinic (1986-2001)
Sports Media and Broadcast

In 1986, John Hancock challenged TRACS to design a national outreach program about running & fitness that leveraged John Hancock’s investment in the Elite Athletes of the Boston Marathon. The TRACS team rose to the challenge by designing and managing the John Hancock Running & Fitness Clinic Program, highlighting John Hancock’s commitment to promoting fitness as part of a healthy lifestyle.  John Hancock Elite Athletes, including 14 Olympic medalists and 18 World Championship medalists, made over 400 appearances at middle & high schools across the US, demonstrating running techniques, training methods and leading a healthy lifestyle.

This year-round program provided a national platform for the John Hancock brand, its sponsorship of the Boston Marathon, its commitment to the Elite Athletes of the Boston Marathon and an educational forum for cultural exchange. As of 2001, over 74,000 American students participated in the John Hancock Running & Fitness Program. To reach a wider audience of students, TRACS co-produced an educational video, To Be Your Best, to scale the program to an additional 500,000 students.

John Hancock Adopt-a-Marathoner Program (1993-Present)
Event and Program Management

As an extension of the John Hancock Running and Fitness Clinic Program, the Adopt-a-Marathoner Program was first conducted in 1993 at Elmwood Elementary School in Hopkinton, MA, where the historic Boston Marathon begins. The program introduces Hopkinton Elmwood Elementary School students to the training practices, culture and lifestyle of Kenyan athletes competing in the Boston Marathon. To facilitate the additional learning, TRACS provides teachers with an educational kit to incorporate the program into the students curriculum.

The Thursday preceding the Boston Marathon, TRACS hosts a major media event at the Elmwood Elementary School, which attracts five television stations and numerous local, national and international print media. To date, over 10,000 Hopkinton residents, an entire generation, have participated in the program.

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