NYRR Cancels 5th Avenue Mile Heats

unbelievable1234 wrote:

Safety first wrote:

I, for one, applaud the NYRR for making a tough decision and keeping its members safe from harm. A severe lightning storm is no joke, a President Trump rally on July 4 was curtailed by lightning a few years ago. Sure it is unfortunate, but maybe it was a blessing in disguise. Thank the good lord above that you are blessed with your health, wealth and family.

You probably work for that joke organization NYRR. Either that, or this post is sarcastic. There was no "severe" lightning storm. They saw one flash like 15 miles away.

NYRR doesn't care about the "mediocre competitive runner" (to steal a term from Malcolm Gladwell). They could have gotten the nyc heat in...just start the race 30 seconds behind the pros. Wouldn't affect their race. NYRR just doesn't care. To them, the locally competitive runners are just an uppity headache.

You see it everywhere. Paying mediocre non-binary runners $2,000 for a 75 minute half marathon at Brooklyn Half...while it takes 63 minutes to win the men's division.

Folks train all year for this race. I certainly did. One guy flew in from Colorado.

They could have gotten the race in...they don't care.

NYRRC in the past wrote:

that sucks big time wrote:

They're a money making machine and will never care about anything other than their bottom line. Pros draw more participants and spectators. More participants and spectators = more money. Unfortunately the local elite does little to draw a crowd, so we can all kick rocks and chew screws.

I interviewed for them once and it was wild and frustrating. The pay was ~50% less than anyone else would pay for that role and experience. Guy on phone told me all about how they can't pay more because they do so much for the community.

As a long time Manhattan former resident and Central Park runner I just want to add that NYRCC was not always so money hungry and truly did care about the NYC competitive runners. Fred Lebow would always come up to the front runners at the end of races and chat and congratulate us. I am appalled at what happened to this local elite race on Saturday. There were clear solutions as pointed out here by many. Fred Lebow would be appalled at this situation and the NYRCC management that made this decision.

apple of some size wrote:

NYRRC in the past wrote:

As a long time Manhattan former resident and Central Park runner I just want to add that NYRCC was not always so money hungry and truly did care about the NYC competitive runners. Fred Lebow would always come up to the front runners at the end of races and chat and congratulate us. I am appalled at what happened to this local elite race on Saturday. There were clear solutions as pointed out here by many. Fred Lebow would be appalled at this situation and the NYRCC management that made this decision.

the issue is the balance between recreational and competitive running, inside NYRR. In the past, esp under mary wittenberg, the balance skewed more toward the competitive. Now, with a new media non-running guy as CEO...they skew more to the recreational side.

Plus, because of their big scandal and COVID layoffs they fired or lost dozens of key people who had irreplacable institutional knowledge.

NYRR used to be best in the business. Now they are floundering, not an elite organization anymore.