Marathon finds new home at Heinz Field

The Steelers locker room at Heinz Field will be full of elite athletes Sunday.

Some of the top runners in the world will be there after the conclusion of the UPMC Health System City of Pittsburgh Marathon.

That's better than the tent they usually find at Point State Park at the finish line of the 26.2-mile race.

"Being able to use the Steelers locker room will be great for our athletes," race director Larry Grollman said Tuesday at a news conference in the Omni Westin William Penn Hotel. "They will be able to be taken care of inside the rooms and be able to relax after the race."

The use of Steelers facilities is just one of the many positive aspects of having the race start and end inside Heinz Field. Grollman said spectators will be able to access plenty of parking on race day and find a great place to watch their favorite runners. All runners who cross the finish line will see their picture on the JumboTron. Runners will enter the stadium through the west-side tunnel. They will see themselves on the big screen when they enter the track inside the stadium. They will continue on the track along the west side, to the south end, to the east side and end up on the track at the 50-yard line.

"I think this is a most exciting year," Grollman said. "We want it to be like a party on the North Shore. There will be so many things for people to do, even if they aren't running the race."

Race participans will notice some changes in the course. The first hill is a mile sooner, and the course also avoids most of downtown, which has become the throughway for the current construction of the Fort Pitt Bridge. Having to work around the orange cones and barrells has been Grollman's project since last summer.

"One Sunday in August, we road around and kept changing things," Grollman said. "We thought about not going over the West End Bridge, but then we would have to go through downtown. We didn't want to compromise the downtown area. So we set it up so that runners will be through the West End Bridge by 9:30 a.m."

Then the barrels on both sides of the West End Bridge will be put back. That is one of several changes that have been made.

"There have been a lot of little things in terms of logistics," Grollman said. "The thing is we are creatures of habit and just need to adjust a little bit. I think it will all be worth it when runners look up, and even after running 26.2 miles, they will be able to smile when they see themselves on the JumboTron."

Grollman likes the idea of Heinz Field as the marathon's home.

"We certainly would like to make Heinz Field as the venue for this race," Grollman said. "It should be a lot of fun having it there. It should be a great environment for people. I think they will want to come back."