tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5330212736054651223.post8019003601554204234..comments2023-05-11T02:40:19.932-06:00Comments on The Chronic Runner: NYRR's Wrongheaded Resolution: A Letter to Mary WittenbergCaolan MacMahonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10371711289185833824noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5330212736054651223.post-54909586336801862862013-01-23T08:22:23.529-07:002013-01-23T08:22:23.529-07:00I've qualified and run Boston, and I'll be...I've qualified and run Boston, and I'll be running it again this year and in 2014...perhaps more, who knows.<br />My relationship with the NYCM Has to do with me as a young runner, and the special experiences I had around that race. For me, NY was special. In light of this whole situation, Boston has become more important to me than it was - but my past in rooted more in NYC. Time to create a new past...today. A new present moving into the future...Caolan MacMahonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10371711289185833824noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5330212736054651223.post-32017544436084549062013-01-23T07:40:30.599-07:002013-01-23T07:40:30.599-07:00I may never be a marathon runner but I have to agr...I may never be a marathon runner but I have to agree with your anger at the way this event was held...and hope you will see fit to follow through and run every other possible marathon instead of this one. Surely then you can qualify for BOSTON which is the far more honored marathon. Your dream of the marathon is not done because of this event. As a runner at other smaller distance events which have failed at times, I support you and those who made their choice to participate despite the tragic weather events...and continue to be appalled about how it was all handled.Fletziehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16021594535885441518noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5330212736054651223.post-23777638070591695532013-01-11T09:26:12.947-07:002013-01-11T09:26:12.947-07:00I live in the UK and I am truly dismayed by the at...I live in the UK and I am truly dismayed by the attitude of NYRRC. I was always happy to pay further admin charges, and maybe even an addtional but reduced fee, but if the insurance has paid out, how can NYRRC justify asking people to pay in full again - remember some of us are paying huge sums to visit your wonderful country and this (Great?) city. It does seem that the basic principles and tenets on which this fantastic event was based has been lost. A race for the people by the people to benefit the people? The whole Marathon event (I prefer Event to Race) has somehow been a little cheapened by this Resolution. On a personal level I really don't think I can now take part as the entire process has lost a lot of attraction for me. Good Luck and Best Wishes to All New Yorkers for a speedy recovery from the effects of Hurricane Sandy<br />Derek (UK)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5330212736054651223.post-72726036631676857432013-01-10T19:27:55.402-07:002013-01-10T19:27:55.402-07:00I agree with you now. Perhaps I've seen the li...I agree with you now. Perhaps I've seen the light ;) And I'm running Boston for the second time this April and I've already got my qualifier for 2014. So I think my heart has moved to Boston!!Caolan MacMahonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10371711289185833824noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5330212736054651223.post-89460893953307995832013-01-10T17:35:28.588-07:002013-01-10T17:35:28.588-07:00Interesting take on the situation, but I have to s...Interesting take on the situation, but I have to strongly disagree with your statement that NYCM is the greatest marathon in the world (that would be Boston) or the people's marathon (that would be MCM).DDeucehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07756454147206213532noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5330212736054651223.post-83195740091748880822013-01-10T14:54:14.196-07:002013-01-10T14:54:14.196-07:00So am I! :)So am I! :)Caolan MacMahonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10371711289185833824noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5330212736054651223.post-24271127842650906992013-01-10T14:53:16.005-07:002013-01-10T14:53:16.005-07:00I'm taking the refund & putting it towards...I'm taking the refund & putting it towards Chicago.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5330212736054651223.post-31083714535398483492013-01-10T14:12:07.630-07:002013-01-10T14:12:07.630-07:00I think that this marathon will never be the same ...I think that this marathon will never be the same thanks to the way this was handled, and quite honestly I do not know that I will try to run it. But if I do it will not be on these terms. This is a completely personal issue for me - and I've written about the NYCM many, many times over the past couple years, and the fact is that my desire to run NY got me back into racing, because I told myself when I was a 16 year old school girl, that someday I would run it. It is difficult to let go of that, but I may have to. I agree that we need to support the races that support running for runners in a positive way, and I have been doing that for years. 2012 was the first time I ever ran any large races. <br /><br />So, I agree with you. I'm just having a hard time letting go.Caolan MacMahonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10371711289185833824noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5330212736054651223.post-36310084256006309772013-01-10T13:28:49.255-07:002013-01-10T13:28:49.255-07:00As an out of state runner who applied to the lotte...As an out of state runner who applied to the lottery for four years before being accepted, and who spent thousands going to the city for the race after multiple assurances that the race would be run, I agree entirely with your comments, with one large exception. It appears that other than whine and complain about it, you will do everything you can to again be at the starting line in 2013. Do you think that Wittenberg and NYRRs care much about your complaints? If they did, they would be offering guaranteed entry at no charge. What they care about is the money. <br /><br />As long as you and so many other people keep saying "I'm really angry but I really want to run the race and I'll be there again", what do they care about how upset you are? They'll still fill the race with you and everyone else and, over time, this entire fiasco will slowly fade from memory and NYRRs will never be held accountable for the way this was handled. They know this, and the reason they aren't offering what you and I would consider to be the fair resolution is that they know they don't have to. There will be thousands of people who will crawl back for another application while licking their wounds simply because they've put this race on their bucket list. <br /><br />The answer, of course, is to refuse to support the race in any way, and to speak loudly and regularly to every runner you know to avoid the race. Run someplace else. Give your money or energy to a race that appreciates it. Don't support incompetent money grubbers. I'm guessing after collecting insurance money NYRRs will actually make a nice profit on the cancelled race. If no one showed up to run in 2013, that might cause them to reflect further on the damage they've done to their reputation. <br /><br />Sorry, but you being at the starting line won't do anything.<br /><br />MDAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5330212736054651223.post-52958357463664421002013-01-10T12:53:16.640-07:002013-01-10T12:53:16.640-07:00They should at least have given the option for fre...They should at least have given the option for free entry next year to out of town runners. A lot of locals do the 9 + 1 every year so they will take the refund and use it towards next year's race. There are no easy solutions to this problem.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5330212736054651223.post-53087160201772696922013-01-10T12:45:50.094-07:002013-01-10T12:45:50.094-07:00I wonder when the putting on of races went from do...I wonder when the putting on of races went from doing it for the race to doing it for the bucks. Somewhere along the way races morphed from using 3x5 cards and fishing line to track results, to Chip time versus gun time. Racing went from the pursuit of excellence to the pursuit of goodies and awards at the end of the race.<br /><br />This is merely the next step on this path. The New York Marathon is a cash cow designed to make money for the city and the people that put on the race. It so happens they are making money doing something we love. I don't have a problem with them making money, but let's be realistic: these races stopped being about runners a long time ago. They are now about image, money, and in the largest races power. <br /><br />Mary Wittenberg is wrong. No way around that. The sad thing is that by participating in these races I have added to the image, the greed and their power. I have put on fairly large races and many smaller ones. I am proud of what I have done in my work there but at the same time I had to step back before the work became more important than why I got into it in the first place. <br /><br />When running was fun it was very very fun, but when it became work it was horrid. <br /><br />john the xcar<br />Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17556690996046020504noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5330212736054651223.post-83532982059174945452013-01-10T12:41:21.549-07:002013-01-10T12:41:21.549-07:00Caolan, you were guaranteed entry to the 2012 NY M...Caolan, you were guaranteed entry to the 2012 NY Marathon. You were given an entry to the 2012 NY Marathon.<br /><br />Now get out there and run another qualifier!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5330212736054651223.post-43096763390375285952013-01-10T11:59:57.199-07:002013-01-10T11:59:57.199-07:00Thank YOU!!!Thank YOU!!!Caolan MacMahonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10371711289185833824noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5330212736054651223.post-53066789420959192972013-01-10T11:40:10.331-07:002013-01-10T11:40:10.331-07:00I don't make many comments, but where is the g...I don't make many comments, but where is the giant "like" button? You read my mind and many others. Thank you!Jillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13556905555158606114noreply@blogger.com