The Marathon

[crasherino]

I am becoming increasingly more agitated over the marathon going forward this weekend. With people still missing, millions without power in every boro that the marathon goes through, its down right disrespectful and an awful misallocation of resources to have the marathon continuing as planned.

Figure out a way to reschedule, cancel it, move it....I don't really care, but its not appropriate to have it less than a week after this catastrophe with a huge number of people in the NY Metro area still suffering. How can there be any generator used for marathon preparations when people in Staten Island literally have no food to eat? How can there be 100s of police assigned to marathon detail when there are fist fights at practically every gas station in the area?

The more I think about, the angrier I get. JMO.

[fidelioion]

Not hearing a lot out of the Mayors office about this. Have they given any legitimate rationale for continuing?

I imagine it's about the money, but I can't believe it's only about the money.

[crasherino]

Originally Posted by fidelioion

Not hearing a lot out of the Mayors office about this. Have they given any legitimate rationale for continuing?

I imagine it's about the money, but I can't believe it's only about the money.

The money and "life must go on or the storm wins" type nonsense. My guess is that they made the decision earlier in the week and by the time they realized how bad of a decision it actually was, it became too late to cancel it.

To have the Verazzano Bridge closed for this nonsense when they could be bringing supplies to people who desparately need them (or simply allowing beleagured SIers to visit family/friends) is obscene.

[crasherino]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kris-l...b_2061007.html

Screw the NYC Marathon

Four hundred and one miles. That's how much running I've completed since June 16, 2012. Since June 16th I've spent 75 hours in running gear. That's a little over three days of nothing but jogging. The goal of all this work was to run in the New York City Marathon on November 4th. Orange wave #4. Corral 65. Bib number 65195. And now I say to hell with it.

I found out I won the lottery for the marathon while I was in the Galapagos Islands. I was escaping the equator's humid weather, laying down on my hotel bed in a towel when a new email came in on my iPhone. I was in. I couldn't believe they chose me. Although looking back I think it had something to do with me registering two years in a row and getting denied. This being the third year in a row, they had to let me run. It was some sort of arcane rule that I believe they're doing away with after this year. Happiness/fear set in quickly. I realized immediately that I needed to get to work and train for this marathon better than my last two. Yeah, I ran in two other marathons: NYC in 2010 and Italy in 2011. I am now addicted.

I decided to buy the training program that the NY Road Runners provide on their website. It's a pretty great program. They email you every single day at 2am with how many miles you're to do today, a coaches tip and what pace you should maintain on your run. I followed this regimen for 75 hours and 401 miles over 16 weeks. Every single day I woke up and checked my email and read my mission for the day. After my workout I would log my workout on their website. Every single day since June 16th I did this. I cherished the off days and truth be told where there was a Flex day (a day where the option was to run or take the day off), you bet your ass I took that day off. I'm not a skinny man. I have flat feet and tree trunks for calves, but I make damn sure to get off my ass and do my workout for the day. I ran 20 miles in one go, not once but twice during my training. My big toe nail is black and blue and a good friend who is a nurse says I will surely lose that during the marathon. It was a sacrifice I was happy to make, until today.

I'm a native New Yorker. I spent my first 22 years in Staten Island and the last eleven in Brooklyn. I love this town. I've seen the horror show of 9/11, the 2004 black out, and the 2007 Mets season end with Carlos Beltran watching a curve go by him. I know pain. I know suffering. This storm is right up there. People are without power all over New York. My mother in Staten Island was unreachable for most of the day yesterday, and I didn't know if she was dead or alive. My employer is having me work from home because there is no power at the office. I don't work for a Fortune 500 company. I work for a small mom and pop shop in Manhattan, and they need the power to get online. They need it to survive or they will go bankrupt and I will need a new job. That's real. The worst part? That **** is nothing compared to the people whose lives have been lost or homes have been burned down or blown away. It's dark out there. It dark and scary and I honestly think this is worse than 9/11.

Now, I know there are thousands of runners who have trained all year for this event. They've come from all over the globe to get to NY and go to Staten Island and wait for the sun to come up and the marathon to start. Lots of money and sweat has been spent in preparation for November 4th, 2012. I know because I am one of the people that spent money and sweat. "Well you didn't travel from Kenya to run in the marathon," you could say. That's fair, but the New York Road Runners had ample notice about this hurricane. They had a whole week to evaluate the situation. When they saw that people were staying in hotels because they have no home to go back to they should have stepped on the breaks there and then.

Furthermore, I don't want to have streets cleared along the marathon route unless every street has been cleared of downed trees and power lines. I don't want to be handed a free cup of Gatorade unless every single family in Rockaway has the same luxury. I don't want people cheering me on when nurses who saved thousands of lives did so in complete darkness. I don't want to reach that finish line before the city I love and live in crosses that finish line and cleans up after this natural disaster. I love the NYC Marathon. It changed my life. 75 hours and 401 miles later; I say to hell with it. Just postpone the damn thing.

[Warfish]

A horrificly misguided and wrongheaded decision.

On a sorta-related note (i.e. wrongheaded decisions), I've heard reports of out-of-state electrical and line workers being turned away from helping in NY and NJ......because they're non-Union.

/facepalm, palm, palm.

[JetPotato]

Bloomberg is a complete buffoon. But no worries, he'll be out of there after another 6 or 7 terms.

[dustykeller]

crash,

just think about random tits. Gets me through some tough times.

[The Boston Patriot]

Originally Posted by JetPotato

Bloomberg is a complete buffoon. But no worries, he'll be out of there after another 6 or 7 terms.

He posts on JI under the nom de plume EternalChampion if you want to tell him what you think.

[fivewide]

After Post cover today, there will be MAJOR problems if they run this race...thinking widespread riots

[fukushimajin]

I see everyone's point, be it can't be postponed. It's an international event, runners are here from all over the world. The Bridges aren't closed to emergency vehicles and the police are barely needed anyway -- most of the work is done by volunteers. Bad optics, no doubt, but there won't be any harm. We are not New Orleans. Period.

[fukushimajin]

Originally Posted by fivewide

After Post cover today, there will be MAJOR problems if they run this race...thinking widespread riots

Nonsense.

[Warfish]

Originally Posted by fukushimajin

I see everyone's point, be it can't be postponed. It's an international event, runners are here from all over the world. The Bridges aren't closed to emergency vehicles and the police are barely needed anyway -- most of the work is done by volunteers. Bad optics, no doubt, but there won't be any harm. We are not New Orleans. Period.

If one dollar of state money is spent, if one minute of police staff is used, if one milimeter of roads that could doing more important work is taken up, if one single tic-tac worth of supplies to those in need is slowed down, if one second of power loss is prolonged, it's a bad decision. I.e. it's a bad decision, and not because this is some sort of "whose cock is bigger" competition between New orleans and New York.

[sg3]

Originally Posted by Warfish

If one dollar of state money is spent, if one minute of police staff is used, if one milimeter of roads that could doing more important work is taken up, if one single tic-tac worth of supplies to those in need is slowed down, if one second of power loss is prolonged, it's a bad decision. I.e. it's a bad decision, and not because this is some sort of "whose cock is bigger" competition between New orleans and New York.

Agree

Cancel the stupid thing. If you need a winner to make it official, put the names of ALL the emaciated Ethiopians and Kenyans entered in a fishbowl, draw one out and declare him the winner

Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2

[fukushimajin]

Originally Posted by Warfish

If one dollar of state money is spent, if one minute of police staff is used, if one milimeter of roads that could doing more important work is taken up, if one single tic-tac worth of supplies to those in need is slowed down, if one second of power loss is prolonged, it's a bad decision. I.e. it's a bad decision, and not because this is some sort of "whose cock is bigger" competition between New orleans and New York.

It's not a competition -- and it may be a bad decision,but New York simply cannot remain shut down. The City is what it is, both good and bad because of that attitude. Can't and shouldn't change it now. Cancelling things is the safe decision for any administrator. Going ahead with things and planning adequately for them takes guts and is hard. I'm no Bloomberg supporter, but he is trying to think both of the present situation and the city's future.

Also, parenthetically, police are, by far, the least important of the city services right now as they have no role in power restoration, moving debris or moving supplies. They are needed to control traffic, but on a Sunday that is hardly a problem.

[Warfish]

Originally Posted by fukushimajin

It's not a competition -- and it may be a bad decision,but New York simply cannot remain shut down. The City is what it is, both good and bad because of that attitude. Can't and shouldn't change it now. Cancelling things is the safe decision for any administrator. Going ahead with things and planning adequately for them takes guts and is hard. I'm no Bloomberg supporter, but he is trying to think both of the present situation and the city's future.

Also, parenthetically, police are, by far, the least important of the city services right now as they have no role in power restoration, moving debris or moving supplies. They are needed to control traffic, but on a Sunday that is hardly a problem.

Let me guess, you're either a runner, or a big fan of the "sport" of running?

Agree to disagree. I think your opinion here is patently rediculous.

[frostlich]

Because the focus is not on the most important task at hand.

Now you have storm victims competing with marathon for hotel rooms.

Disgraceful.

[Snell41]

Originally Posted by fukushimajin

I see everyone's point, be it can't be postponed. It's an international event, runners are here from all over the world. The Bridges aren't closed to emergency vehicles and the police are barely needed anyway -- most of the work is done by volunteers. Bad optics, no doubt, but there won't be any harm. We are not New Orleans. Period.

Bull****, total utter bull****. To hell with the internationals. The police are barely needed? What kind of moron are you? This is plain old stupidity over the sake of money. Just great that we'll get to hear "and here comes Ndkwe Jabba Jabba click click Tsutsetse running past a house that floated up on shore, such a shame all the people who have lost everything. Our thoughts and prayers to them, but hey I think we better get that jogger some gatorade he looks thirsty!".

Actually we won't get to hear that because we have no power!

[Guy Incognito]

Originally Posted by fukushimajin

I see everyone's point, be it can't be postponed. an international event, runners are here from all over the world. The Bridges aren't closed to emergency vehicles and the police are barely needed anyway -- most of the work is done by volunteers. Bad optics, no doubt, but there won't be any harm. We are not New Orleans. Period.

Sorry, but I don't, nor should anyone, GAF about runners from all over the world. The mean nothing to me and means nothing to this City at this point in time. We need help, not people running.
I hope everyone feels great when they run away from Staten Island to start the race, leaving behind a borough devastated.

Wanna run a Marathon?
I'll give you a 26.2 mile route. Wherever you live or come from, I'll work one out for you, ok? Or better yet, check out google maps and knock yourself out.

Wanna volunteer?
I know handing out cups of water to people from all over the world is oh so noble, but how about you volunteer by distributing food to hungry New Yorkers?

[fukushimajin]

Originally Posted by Warfish

Let me guess, you're either a runner, or a big fan of the "sport" of running?

Agree to disagree. I think your opinion here is patently rediculous.

Ran the marathon in 2003 and will probably never do so again. I would like to run a little now but haven't since I started having kids in 2010. Have never watched a competitive running competition and never will; it is simply too boring. I do have some respect for the training people have done to prepare. Also, for the record I evacuated from my house on avenue C on Sunday and have not been able to return because our power is out and we have no water.

I know a lot of people will be pissed off abut the marathon, but people in NY are always pissed off and I simply don't believe that it will have any real effect on the recovery efforts. Believe me, I'd like to go home too, but NY is a big enough place to run a marathon without messing up assistance to other places.

[Guy Incognito]

Originally Posted by crasherino

I am becoming increasingly more agitated over the marathon going forward this weekend. With people still missing, millions without power in every boro that the marathon goes through, its down right disrespectful and an awful misallocation of resources to have the marathon continuing as planned.

Figure out a way to reschedule, cancel it, move it....I don't really care, but its not appropriate to have it less than a week after this catastrophe with a huge number of people in the NY Metro area still suffering. How can there be any generator used for marathon preparations when people in Staten Island literally have no food to eat? How can there be 100s of police assigned to marathon detail when there are fist fights at practically every gas station in the area?

The more I think about, the angrier I get. JMO.

Everything this guy said, and some.