NYC Marathon PR Disaster

[BFwillie_g]

Were they insane to begin with? Diverting emergency services and shelter for a bunch of hobby joggahs?!?

If you were registered, then just go run your 26.2 on your own, and let them donate the entry fees and prize monies to the people who really need help right now!

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/03/sports/new-york-city-marathon-will-not-be-held-sunday.html?hp

 

[theshortwhiteguy]

Honestly, did the socialites that run the NYRR really think they could get away with it?

Mayor Bloomberg: "Let them (Staten Islander's) eat Goo".

 

[DNEchris]

I think Mary Wittenberg was the driver behind trying to run it but I think the local politicos made the right decision - once they'd realised that Staten Island was one of the 5 boros upon its re-discovery on Thursday. The devastation there looks to be the equal of anything on the Jersey shore. With a Nor'easter possible for the middle of next week those folk need all the help they can get!

NYRR come out of this far from unblemished.

 

[RunningPirate]

I've always sort of gotten an unsaid vibe that NYRR was a little self-involved...

 

[DNEchris]

I've always sort of gotten an unsaid vibe that NYRR was a little self-involved...

Nur ein bischen??

 

[RunningPirate]

Nur ein bischen??

Ja, nur ein bischen.

[Ich spreche kein Deutsch, also musste ich mit Google Translate]

 

[RunningPirate]

Ya know what? The more I think about this, the more appalled I am at the folks that are more concerned about the race than they are about what's going on in NYC. Don't get me wrong - I'd be upset too, but I'd also understand; these folks seem to be more...well, as I said above - self-involved. I shouldn't be shocked, I guess, but I am...

 

[spoonerweb]

I would find this whole mess to be very frustrating, especially if I were coming from overseas. Most people from overseas would have tried to arrive on Thursday or Friday. If they had just said on Monday or Tuesday the race was cancelled, then everyone would have understood. But they didn't cancel the race and said it would go on. So then you have a lot of the residents upset about the race. So they waited until Friday to cancel the race. By now, most of the runners have already arrived or it's too late to cancel their plane flights. So now they have the runners and the residents upset.

 

[BFwillie_g]

I would find this whole mess to be very frustrating, especially if I were coming from overseas.

That's an angle that I didn't fully appreciate when I made the thread. Apparently, participants had already picked up their starter packs, and people from all over the country and the world are there in their hotels, feeling a little less than enthusiastic about The Big Apple.

 

[DNEchris]

Very many of the European runners have come for a week's vacation with a run as the excuse for the visit. Their attitude last night seemed to be mostly positive.

It will be interesting to see how well attended the Expo will be today and to hear, over the next few days, how much shopping got done in lower Manhattan - people seemed very upset that they could only walk around Manhattan south of 34th street and not spend any money there!

 

[ChasingShadows]

Hmmm. Large group of fit, healthy people. Presumably a fair sized organising commitee, etc. All in a place that needs some hands on practical support right now. Would it have been that hard for them to have done something really positive & actually helped out?

 

[RunningPirate]

I would find this whole mess to be very frustrating, especially if I were coming from overseas. Most people from overseas would have tried to arrive on Thursday or Friday. If they had just said on Monday or Tuesday the race was cancelled, then everyone would have understood. But they didn't cancel the race and said it would go on. So then you have a lot of the residents upset about the race. So they waited until Friday to cancel the race. By now, most of the runners have already arrived or it's too late to cancel their plane flights. So now they have the runners and the residents upset.

Oh, agreed- Bloomberg and NYRR's handling of this was not crisp. This should have been called on Tuesday night, at the latest, to give folks a chance to change their plans and save a significant amount of money, time and extreme inconvenience - I get that. That said, when I see photos of people crying because they can't run the race, I think "there are a of other people crying right now, and it's not because they can't go running"

 

[Bare Lee]

Seems like a NY con to me. Get people to come anyway and spend, then cancel at the last minute to appease constituents.

 

[Barefoot TJ]

You've all said basically what I feel.

 

[DNEchris]

Cynic!

 

[DNEchris]

Having spent today in and around the Marathon Expo, and talked to a good deal of would-be racers, I did not hear a single negative comment about the decision. Those who wanted to run will do something in the city and those on vacation will get an extra day to party.

It's all good - except for those folk without heat and power in a pretty raw environment. It's supposed to get close to freezing tonight but the humidity and 20+ mile an hour winds leach heat pretty quickly.

 

[devilnuts]

Okay, so here's my naive take:

I understand that this event draws many people from around the world. So postponing it is not really a viable option for those folks. At the same time, this brings some serious money to the city. It shows that they cannot be brought down by a storm. Ideally, I would have like to have seen the expos focused on helping prepare the course. Use that week to get the runners of the marathon involved in the rebuilding of the areas they are about to run through. I think that would have been a win/win for everyone. I do not think that emergency services should have been diverted to the race. Instead, volunteers should have been recruited from the runners families, friends, etc. to "oversee" the marathon. This would have let the workers focus on what they needed to focus on while providing some oversight for the marathon. Not an ideal situation, but if NYC is going through a difficult time, shouldn't the runners face a difficult time as well? (i.e. not having emergency responders every two miles). I think that this could've been a great chance for NYC to show how resilient it is. Instead, I feel like the ones who demanded the race be called off and the NYRR both came out looking like asses. They should have said from the beginning, "Look, let's help each other." I think that is the true human spirit and what should have been exhibited. But then again, I might be too naive and idealistic for this crap...haha.