It is what it is wrote:
rennurz wrote:Seems very convenient for the travelers.
And what has a train to do with 9/11? Are planes as well hiding their schedules?
Most trains are not passenger trains.
Yeah, I tried pointing that out earlier but lots of people have trouble putting two and 2 together.
a railfan wrote:
It is what it is wrote:Most trains are not passenger trains.
Yeah, I tried pointing that out earlier but lots of people have trouble putting two and 2 together.
So a train rode in the WTC towers?
Phatty MacGee wrote:
Let's face it, if you have to sign up for a last minute BS marathon with a BS course like this Lehigh Valley affair then you don't deserve any breaks.
Qualify like an adult and you don't have these issues.
No fkin kidding. With a BS race "director" you get what you deserve with the notable exception of the Cheater Mike Rossi.
JustSomeGuyWhoRuns wrote:
Just got a new email from Via. Basically - there's not going to be any change in official times.
On Sunday, September 11, 2016, Via Events, Inc. held its tenth annual marathon. The annual marathon is our largest fundraiser. The funds raised are vital for children and adults with disabilities. Your participation in the marathon results in children receiving therapy, adults finding and keeping jobs, and individuals participating in the Lehigh Valley community through recreational and volunteer activities. Our mission is to help the people we serve reach their full potential, and the Via Marathon plays an important role in doing so.
Some of our runners have been affected by an incident that occurred during the race involving a Norfolk Southern train crossing. Via relies on the coordinated efforts of many to ensure the safety and integrity of our race. In preparation for the marathon, Via met with Norfolk Southern Railroad officials, where race logistics, runner safety, and public safety on the course were discussed in great detail. On June 23, 2016, Via staff provided Norfolk Southern with documentation that included race date, time, and logistics information related to all rail crossings on the course. We were given assurances from Norfolk Southern that rail traffic would not obstruct the race. The safety of our runners is our primary concern. For those runners affected, we offer our apologies.
Because the Via Marathon is a Boston qualifying marathon, Via Marathon race officials have been in close contact with the Boston Athletic Association (the “B.A.A.â€) since the race. Based on the information provided by us to the B.A.A., much of which was provided by our runners, the B.A.A. has made the following determination:
“Unfortunately, after reviewing the information received from the 2016 Via Marathon, the B.A.A. is unable to accept adjusted finish times from -- or make adjustments to -- the 2016 Via Marathon. Official times must be kept intact and based on the course which each participant ran. The B.A.A. must stand firm in its Boston Marathon qualifier requirements which include accepting only adjudicated results. The B.A.A. will, however, accept adjudicated results from the 2016 Via Marathon which are official and have not been adjusted.â€
We appreciate the B.A.A.’s willingness to review this matter, and for those runners attempting to qualify for the Boston marathon, we understand your frustration.
We greatly appreciate your continued participation and support in this important fundraiser for Via. We regret any inconvenience, and we hope you will join us again next year.
Sincerely,
Gerry Yasso, Vice President of Development, Via Events, Inc.
Barbara McKeever, Via Marathon Race Director
Via Events, Inc.
336 W. Spruce Street
Bethlehem, PA 18018
events@vianet.org
Nobody who knows these two should be surprised by this response. It's wordy, and uses lots of tangents to try to deflect the reader from the subject. It reads like an annual report for a company going under: "some of our runners have been affected...", could be "corporate sales have been affected...". It's just like the Rossi response.
The real kicker is that it looks like they haven't communicated with NSRR since June 23, so the RR likely had 2.5 months to forget about something that was hardly important to them to begin with. If Barb or Gerry had reminded them a few times the week before, they probably would have held back their train. I suspect that Via staff did not contact them after June 23, because they probably would have bragged about it in this email.
This is the problem here, and it puts front-and-center the incompetence of these two: race management is a job of logistics and people. You have to be constantly checking in on those who are assigned jobs: cops, timers, USATF, town officials, entertainment, and so on, INCLUDING THE RAILROAD.
Another contradiction is "The safety of our runners is our primary concern." The letter starts out talking about fundraising, so I have no doubt that FUNDRAISING is their primary concern. If runner safety was their primary concern Yasso would have designed a course without RR crossings.
Bottom line is Yasso and McKeever dropped the ball, big time. They have nobody to blame but themselves. When you wrap up a huge blunder with a letter that basically says "tough $#it to the sport of running" and reads like a layoff notice from an HR department in another state, it makes sense that they and Rossi incur so much wrath.
The Barb and Gerry show wrote:
JustSomeGuyWhoRuns wrote:Just got a new email from Via. Basically - there's not going to be any change in official times.
On Sunday, September 11, 2016, Via Events, Inc. held its tenth annual marathon. The annual marathon is our largest fundraiser. The funds raised are vital for children and adults with disabilities. Your participation in the marathon results in children receiving therapy, adults finding and keeping jobs, and individuals participating in the Lehigh Valley community through recreational and volunteer activities. Our mission is to help the people we serve reach their full potential, and the Via Marathon plays an important role in doing so.
Some of our runners have been affected by an incident that occurred during the race involving a Norfolk Southern train crossing. Via relies on the coordinated efforts of many to ensure the safety and integrity of our race. In preparation for the marathon, Via met with Norfolk Southern Railroad officials, where race logistics, runner safety, and public safety on the course were discussed in great detail. On June 23, 2016, Via staff provided Norfolk Southern with documentation that included race date, time, and logistics information related to all rail crossings on the course. We were given assurances from Norfolk Southern that rail traffic would not obstruct the race. The safety of our runners is our primary concern. For those runners affected, we offer our apologies.
Because the Via Marathon is a Boston qualifying marathon, Via Marathon race officials have been in close contact with the Boston Athletic Association (the “B.A.A.â€) since the race. Based on the information provided by us to the B.A.A., much of which was provided by our runners, the B.A.A. has made the following determination:
“Unfortunately, after reviewing the information received from the 2016 Via Marathon, the B.A.A. is unable to accept adjusted finish times from -- or make adjustments to -- the 2016 Via Marathon. Official times must be kept intact and based on the course which each participant ran. The B.A.A. must stand firm in its Boston Marathon qualifier requirements which include accepting only adjudicated results. The B.A.A. will, however, accept adjudicated results from the 2016 Via Marathon which are official and have not been adjusted.â€
We appreciate the B.A.A.’s willingness to review this matter, and for those runners attempting to qualify for the Boston marathon, we understand your frustration.
We greatly appreciate your continued participation and support in this important fundraiser for Via. We regret any inconvenience, and we hope you will join us again next year.
Sincerely,
Gerry Yasso, Vice President of Development, Via Events, Inc.
Barbara McKeever, Via Marathon Race Director
Via Events, Inc.
336 W. Spruce Street
Bethlehem, PA 18018
events@vianet.orgNobody who knows these two should be surprised by this response. It's wordy, and uses lots of tangents to try to deflect the reader from the subject. It reads like an annual report for a company going under: "some of our runners have been affected...", could be "corporate sales have been affected...". It's just like the Rossi response.
The real kicker is that it looks like they haven't communicated with NSRR since June 23, so the RR likely had 2.5 months to forget about something that was hardly important to them to begin with. If Barb or Gerry had reminded them a few times the week before, they probably would have held back their train. I suspect that Via staff did not contact them after June 23, because they probably would have bragged about it in this email.
This is the problem here, and it puts front-and-center the incompetence of these two: race management is a job of logistics and people. You have to be constantly checking in on those who are assigned jobs: cops, timers, USATF, town officials, entertainment, and so on, INCLUDING THE RAILROAD.
Another contradiction is "The safety of our runners is our primary concern." The letter starts out talking about fundraising, so I have no doubt that FUNDRAISING is their primary concern. If runner safety was their primary concern Yasso would have designed a course without RR crossings.
Bottom line is Yasso and McKeever dropped the ball, big time. They have nobody to blame but themselves. When you wrap up a huge blunder with a letter that basically says "tough $#it to the sport of running" and reads like a layoff notice from an HR department in another state, it makes sense that they and Rossi incur so much wrath.
Didn't I read there were no course monitors/volunteers at these tracks?
Make no mistake, it's not for the children. They need to skim that money to make them feel good about themselves.
Barb McKeever wrote:
The Barb and Gerry show wrote:Nobody who knows these two should be surprised by this response. It's wordy, and uses lots of tangents to try to deflect the reader from the subject. It reads like an annual report for a company going under: "some of our runners have been affected...", could be "corporate sales have been affected...". It's just like the Rossi response.
The real kicker is that it looks like they haven't communicated with NSRR since June 23, so the RR likely had 2.5 months to forget about something that was hardly important to them to begin with. If Barb or Gerry had reminded them a few times the week before, they probably would have held back their train. I suspect that Via staff did not contact them after June 23, because they probably would have bragged about it in this email.
This is the problem here, and it puts front-and-center the incompetence of these two: race management is a job of logistics and people. You have to be constantly checking in on those who are assigned jobs: cops, timers, USATF, town officials, entertainment, and so on, INCLUDING THE RAILROAD.
Another contradiction is "The safety of our runners is our primary concern." The letter starts out talking about fundraising, so I have no doubt that FUNDRAISING is their primary concern. If runner safety was their primary concern Yasso would have designed a course without RR crossings.
Bottom line is Yasso and McKeever dropped the ball, big time. They have nobody to blame but themselves. When you wrap up a huge blunder with a letter that basically says "tough $#it to the sport of running" and reads like a layoff notice from an HR department in another state, it makes sense that they and Rossi incur so much wrath.
Didn't I read there were no course monitors/volunteers at these tracks?
Make no mistake, it's not for the children. They need to skim that money to make them feel good about themselves.
Couldn't agree with you more, especially about constant communication by the race director with issues that effect the safety of the runners.
True. I didn't see any course monitors at the tracks. I arrived after about a dozen runners in front of me (6:40 pace until then) and it was just runners twittling thumbs. A cop showed up after walking down from the roadway overpass after three people had already jumped through the moving train. That's about it.
They made the right call. No time adjustment.
To the people who want time adjustments, wouldn't you feel cheating if you got an adjustment. Trains happen. You have to roll with what happened on the course, on the day. Do you want to be the guy who broke 3 hours by time adjustment? No, it would suck to break 3 hours like that.
Race again and pick a course without trains.
You have a potential cause of action against a race race that will do what you like if you threaten to sue. Mike Rossi clearly cheated - got a lawyer and threatens to sue - they refused fo DQ him they were so scared, even though they would easily have one that law suit.
You want them to adjust times and work harder to get Boston to accept it - threaten to sue. There are at least 96 of you, and your cause of action is way better -there does appear to be some negligence in not following up with the train company closer to the race. Even if one person sued you could get them to do more for you - but if you all sued... everyone knows they hand out BQ's to avoid even the threat of a lawsuit - they'll adjust your times etc. All you need to do is get a lawyer.
I was one of the three who got through the train. When I saw the clusterf, I immediately thought that anyone after a BQ was screwed and no way would BAA adjust times. I saw one guy hop on and climb through and I did the same. Poor guy fell coming off and broke his iPhone. I was fine but it was surreal being in the middle of a race with practically nobody around for miles until the fast guys caught us again four miles later. A friend of mine who was spectating saw the first guy go under the train. Insane.
This is hilarious. I was the only one in a 5k last year to get stopped by a train for about 20 seconds about halfway through the race. The train got across the road right before 2nd place was about to catch up to me.
If the train looked like it was moving slower than I would be running, then I would go around the train running along the side of the tracks. Most trains are a little more than a mile long. If this was moving slowly at 5 mph and ended up taking 7.5 minutes you could have run around it in about 5.3 minutes at 6:40 pace and saved over 2 minutes. (providing the extra .8 miles didn't tire you out)
It's a miracle nobody died that day hopping the train.
If that happened, Barb would probably have ended up in jail.
Class Action wrote:
You have a potential cause of action against a race race that will do what you like if you threaten to sue. Mike Rossi clearly cheated - got a lawyer and threatens to sue - they refused fo DQ him they were so scared, even though they would easily have one that law suit.
You want them to adjust times and work harder to get Boston to accept it - threaten to sue. There are at least 96 of you, and your cause of action is way better -there does appear to be some negligence in not following up with the train company closer to the race. Even if one person sued you could get them to do more for you - but if you all sued... everyone knows they hand out BQ's to avoid even the threat of a lawsuit - they'll adjust your times etc. All you need to do is get a lawyer.
Really? As documented in this thread, train interruptions have happened in many other races and the Tour de France. Were there lawsuits over those?
And even if Via "will do what you like", what do you like? They can't give you a BQ, that's BAA's call. Money?
Their refusal "fo DQ" Rossi from the "race race" cost them no time or money whereas the DQ, which would have been pointless since he'd already run Boston, might have cost them time and money. In that way this is opposite of the Rossi case.
And when did they hand out a BQ to avoid the threat of a lawsuit?
You're just pouting because Via didn't join in your "Mike Rossi is a Loser" circle jerk.
Hi. (replying to the obvious responses to come)
Rossi revealed himself to be such a self absorbed and awful person that every defender of his (even tangentially) must be assumed to be Mike Rossi.
Also, I am not aware of any train incidents at the Tour de France but there were two at Paris Roubaix, a prestigious spring race. I can't prove the Tour disruptions didn't happen so I guess that means they did though.
I would like to join the class action lawsuit against LVM. I would also like us to sue the railroad and the BAA. I'm thinking $200,000 a piece and an entry into the 2017 Boston Marathon are reasonable demands.
One of the Runners wrote:
I would like to join the class action lawsuit against LVM. I would also like us to sue the railroad and the BAA. I'm thinking $200,000 a piece and an entry into the 2017 Boston Marathon are reasonable demands.
Talk to my lawyer:
grandpagrimes@aol.comsomebloke wrote:
One of the Runners wrote:I would like to join the class action lawsuit against LVM. I would also like us to sue the railroad and the BAA. I'm thinking $200,000 a piece and an entry into the 2017 Boston Marathon are reasonable demands.
Talk to my lawyer:
grandpagrimes@aol.com
AOL lawyers don't come cheap. Some will charge just as much as the guy who cuts your lawn.
So many of the things that happen during a race such as this come down to the race directors discretion. I have been part of this process several times and each situation is different. There are appeals processes which can go either way. There are certainly legal avenues that can be followed if negligence is suspected.
What the responsible thing to do going forward is to choose races that have a history of providing the best runner experience possible. I know I would have not run this race based on the reviews and available information I have read.
Trainhopper wrote:
Rossi revealed himself to be such a self absorbed and awful person that every defender of his (even tangentially) must be assumed to be Mike Rossi.
Also, I am not aware of any train incidents at the Tour de France but there were two at Paris Roubaix, a prestigious spring race. I can't prove the Tour disruptions didn't happen so I guess that means they did though.
I completely agree on the opinion of Rossi. He's a cheating cheater who cheated and one of the least likable douchebags I've had the displeasure of observing. The only ones worse are Ken Stillman and the Rossi thread circle-jerkers who still can't let it go a year after the story ended.
Maybe it was that Paris race. I saw a post saying it was the Tour.
Who says "circle jerk" over and over again, and why? Is that what gets you off? It's obviously on your mind. You picture it right? You sure repeat it as often as you can. Seriously you need to keep your sick fantasies to yourself and learn to hide your twisted desires better.