LHS Students Working As Spotters During Marathon

Note: The following is an announcement from WBZ-TV.

On Monday, April 4, high school students across the region, including from Lynnfield, assembled as part of the 100-plus member team working behind the scenes at the 115th Boston Marathon.

This year, these spotters will take their race day positions along the course that stretches from Hopkinton to Boston, including Patricia Kloza, Lexi Buonfiglio, Mia DeLuccia and Eliza Leman, all representing Lynnfield High School. The remaining spotters represent over 20 high schools and colleges from 29 different towns and 6 counties.

On race day, Monday, April 18, this team of well-trained spotters will call in real-time information from their designated mile within seconds to meet the needs of the live broadcast. The information flows through a Spotter’s Network control room at the WBZ studio.

According to WBZ’s Boston Marathon Executive Producer, Jackie Connally, “At the conclusion of the elite men’s, women’s and wheelchair races, the Spotwatch team will have accurately timed, recorded and communicated every activity on each mile marker of the 26.2 mile course.”

In preparation for the 2011 Boston Marathon Treseler said, "This is a tremendous amount of responsibility for these student-athletes who are involved in an award-winning broadcast. Historically, they have always answered the call on race day.”

WBZ news anchor and marathoner Lisa Hughes welcomed the students to the station. “We can't do this without you and we thank you for joining our team” she added. 

Backing up Hughes, WBZ sports reporter Steve Burton also thanked the group, adding, "you are our eyes and ears on race day. We depend on your reports.”

Former Boston Marathon race director and Hopkinton resident Tim Kilduff and Newton resident Fred Treseler, running industry specialist and head coach of the Emerging Elites program, founded the Race Spotwatch and Spotters Network team.

Kilduff and Treseler created the program twenty-six years ago in an effort to elevate live coverage by recruiting and training a team of "spotters" who are assigned at each mile along the Boston Marathon course. Spotters are responsible for tracking the progress of runners and relaying accurate and timely information back to the studio. “This critical information,” according to Treseler, “provides WBZ-TV with the opportunity to elevate the television viewer’s experience, bringing them inside the race.”