Some final Chicago thoughts. Amber mentions encountering marathoners who weren't allowed to finish. Re-routed back to Grant Park, many ran through the finish line out onto the course, then back again in order to get a finish line photo. As runners were still crossing the mat from the other direction, this might compare to driving your car up an exit ramp onto the freeway. Getting gyped out of a race is tough. But hazarding other runners for a picture is boorish.My former TNT coach, Jimmy Freeman, suggested lawyers advised the race director to blame runners for water shortages as any hint of culpability would result in a lawsuit tsumani. Sad but probably true.
Still, it leaves him sounding cheap and mean.
Walked 3 miles on Saturday, while Ernesto ran 14 in preparation for December's Las Vegas Marathon. I met him at various points along our course with water and power bars. Meantime, I encountered many current Team in Training chums. As it happened, I'd brought my Chicago medal and a fine array of catastrophe stories.
Congrats to running partner Melissa for finishing today's Long Beach Marathon. Melissa brought it home in 4:48. There was a time in early spring when we hoped to break 4 hours this fall at our respective races. But, as a wise marathon runner once said, it's a victory just making it to the start line.
5 comments:
That bit about not admitting any hint of culpability is a lot of baloney. Except baloney leaves a much better taste in one's mouth.
For one thing, *avoid admitting culpability* does NOT equal, *blame the victim.*
For another, acting nasty can be a far greater spur for lawsuits. Why? It makes people mad. Next, they feel they have nothing to lose. Clearly, the officials won't make them feel better with a nice word of empathy. So they seek comfort the lawyerly way.
In fact, if attorneys really did advise that BS, then Chicago would do well to padlock its wallet and fire those particular lawyers.
In Chicago v The Marathoners, one would win, and the other lose. BUT! A fight like that actually has three sets of participants, not two.
The attorneys are the third party. It doesn't matter who wins or loses the case itself: the lawyers ALWAYS win lots and lots of bucks for their services.
Why does anyone think they have no dog in the fight? They're the ONLY real winners in a case like this. So of course they're tempted to advise the city to do the thing most likely to cause a legal ruckus.
When do you guys normally run out at the Rose Bowl? I'm also preparing for the LV Marathon. I'll have to look for him during the race.
K,
Tort lawyers are like rats. They can squeeze through small openings.
Pinkowski stuck to his guns, despite volunteers talking to the media about distribution problems with the extra water.
Also, Pinkowski is a marathoner himself. He knows perfectly well you dump water on your head during hot runs. To claim he'd never heard of such a thing smacks of legal coaching. (Deny everything. Actually, it also sounds like an "X Files" episode.)
I think the loser was the city. There are lots of fall marathons out there.
All the best,
John
Steaks,
We usually meet at the TNT start line in parking lot K around 7:00 to 7:30. Ernesto is doing all the heavy lifting, while I recover.
Stop on by.
John
Ah! Parking lot k. Of course.
And they can hold their breath for up to eight minutes, too, as they swim their way through the water pipes and up into your toilet.
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