Wondering What We’ll Do

Now that we’re getting close to December, I’ve been wondering what marathon I’ll be running. The prospect of New Orleans got me off my butt; the difficulty of my work has now sharpened my focus on the goal of finishing, itself.

Mulling over these thoughts, I pulled up some runners’ comments on the 2005 Mardi Gras and Freescale marathons online. Each race had many runners praising it for being well organized. Several runners complained that the Mardi Gras course had rippled asphalt and potholes. Several runners complained that the Freescale course seemed hillier than advertised. Both races had complaints about parking, food, not enough (or the right kind) of hydration, a lack of spectators and a lack of organization (apparently what’s organized to one ain’t necessarily organized to another).

About what you'd expect when hosting an event for thousands.

A few of the comments for the Mardi Gras race actually alarmed me, however, and Tim suggested I post them. Fellow tribe members, please take a look at the excerpts below and tell me what you think.


It was advertised as a 7-hour race, but way before that time the police were on their bullhorns telling us our time was up and to get off the course. Very demoralizing to slower and first-time marathoners. Then when I reached the 1/2 mark back at the Superdome some organizers were yelling for me to go inside because I wasn't going to finish. Not having run a marathon before I started to listen to them but thank God I didn't and like Forrest I kept running. If I had listened to them I wouldn't have accomplished my goal of finishing a full marathon.
C.D., Arlington, VA, 11/15/05


The stellar job done by the police was dimmed somewhat when they shut down the advertised 7-hour course in 6 1/2 hours, forcing runners to the sidewalks with no help at cross streets. Similarly, most of the food vendors (except Subway!) left before the 7-hour finishers arrived in the Dome.
D.W., Minnesota 3/21/05


From the e-mail of Feb. 23rd:

"Course Time Limit for the Half-Marathon is 4 hours and is 7 hours for the Marathon. After that time participants must use the sidewalk and proceed at their own risk. A pace of 16:30 per mile must be maintained in order to be covered by the NOPD course traffic control."

This statement, plus others, leads one to believe that this is a walker-friendly marathon.

When the police passed us, the course effectively closed; and yet we had several miles to go. After that time, there were no course volunteers to direct the runners/walkers where the turns occurred. There were no people directing traffic so we had to wait for the lights. The water stations were closed and the water station workers were cleaning up. I’m not talking about the last stragglers - a group of us walking together finished in under 4 hours (3:40), and yet we were at our own risk as if the course had closed. If it were not for the team that was running for an AIDS charity, we would have gotten lost, too, as the course took an unmarked left turn but their volunteers were there to direct us.

You can’t advertise a 4-hour cut off, and then have the cut off actually be at 3-1/2 hours or less.
N.M., Chicago, IL 3/3/05