Complimentary entry means complimentary entry.
Travel expenses and hotel means Travel expenses and hotel.
Next time you receive a complimentary entry from a race director I hope you don't sit around waiting for your free plane ticket, because it isn't coming.
So you are absolutely sure Deena was going to drive 300 miles to the race, pay for her own lodging, and expect to win virtually no prize money, but decided not to go because the race director didn't give her free entry?
Do you really believe that? I don't.
If sponsors are covering the race expenses then one more person on the road is not taking anything away from the charities the publicity she would bring to the race would more than cover the revenue sacrificed on her behalf if not now then through next years race. With that said if I a dead broke recent college graduate who is waiting tables while looking for a job can pay a 25 dollar entry fee, then a professional athlete certainly can. That is what makes the sport so attractive, the nobodys being on the same playing field as the nations best. When an athlete desides they are above the sport, whether that athele be a runner, a line backer, or a home run hitter, the fans of the sport have every right to get pissed and bitch on a meaningless internet forum.
I haven't read all the pages...
Has anybody pointed out she will be spending much more on wine than on the race?
The race is the Master's Championship, right? Not appropriate for her to race, not fair to the others. I think the Director did the right thing.
It was even tackier to post the reason on the website. Sounds like she was bitter about it.
Runningart2004 wrote:
The only "professional" races are the track races in Europe, the US Championships/Olympic Trials, and the Marathon Trials. What is happening in NYC for the Men's Trials is a step in the right direction, a seperate race for the professionals attached to a larger event. I've seen a few similar races, most notably a criterium 5k they used to run near here. You'd have the people's race run a circular 5k course then afterwards you'd have the "elite" race run a criterium course (1 mile loop I think it was). Races are more or less social events for most of the runners/walkers in them. You'll see more recreational runners/walkers sticking around after the race than your top of the line runners, usually awaiting door prizes. This would work for your 5ks and 10ks, but anything longer and you've have to hold it on a seperate day.
The problem with the professionalization of road running is shared with almost all of the "olympic" sports such as gymnastics, ice skating, swimming, etc. They are usually viewed as "amateur" sports. Successful professional individual sports (tennis, golf) have Grand Slams, a series of grand events that grab people's attention. No one cares who wins the AT&T Tennis Classic or whatever, but people do care about Wimbledon. With distance running you don't really have a successful series or point standings like that. You have the PRRO circuit but that's dominated by a million Kenyans. Your sports fan doesn't care to see Kiptanukomen or Leningradigrad because they can not relate and they can not give good interviews because they are usually shipped in overnight via UPS and can't speak English well enough to entertain the average sports fan. They are probably playing better baseball in Japan but the US sports fan doesn't know and doesn't care. So, why should we make them care about fast foreign runners? Create a professional running series consisting of the best US runners. Use existing races but run the US Running Series race at a different day or time. Get the big three involved: Soda, shoes, beer. You sell anything to the masses successfully without Coke/Pepsi, Nike, or Bud/Miller involved.
Alan
Alan, I disagree with you here. There comes a point where "professionalism" turns into plain ol' GREED. We've now passed that point.
The timing (date) and course of the Men's Olympic Trials is obviously not the best for the runners. The dates and courses of the 2004 Trials were ideal for the athletes, and America won 2 Olympic Medals in the marathon.
The date and course of the Men's trials were chosen to serve the needs and desires of the NYRRC, and not anybody else.
They are very self-serving.
does she expect free gatorade, energy bars, shorts, shoes when she walks into any shoe store?
what an absolute bitch.
1. Simple economics really (unless race is always saturated) -let Deena run for free = more runners (at least competitive one)
2. Do you think baseball players pay their entries to ball games. I mean why can't we support our elites?
Unless you have something in writing or quotes that suggests Deena is asking for anything more than a comped $25 entry you are fabricating fictional requests to tear her down.
I suppose that makes you...an absolute bitch.
All Deena is doing is demanding a little respect. She won a Olympic medal after all. It's the principle of the issue, not the money!
Luca Brazzi wrote:
If Sara Bei (also with ASICS) ask for a complimentary entry would the HB10k have granted it ? HELL YES !
sara bei???? you mean sara hall i forgive you.\
sara's cousin.,
runforall wrote:I mean why can't we support our elites?
Why can't Kastor pay her f***ing bills?
...because all freaking road racing (at least as it's being presented in the USA) is a way to get Joe & Jane Jogger's money under a pretext of a charity event!
When was the last road race any of you ran where the racing was the emphasis, and not on the mamby-pamby Team in Training, Penguin waddling, baby jogger pushing, Gallowalking, self-promoting nutwads like Dean Karnazes?!?
Sorry folks, the way this sport's marketed, there ain't very many where the emphasis is on the racing...
pkrunner wrote:
All Deena is doing is demanding a little respect. She won a Olympic medal after all. It's the principle of the issue, not the money!
Do you really think that she gains respect from this? She looks ridiculous!
Exactly. She looks petty. And now that she's removed the line from her web site, it makes her look even worse. If she thinks she made a mistake, then she should own up to it. Editing the web site makes her look like Nike's public relations dept. got involved.
maybe she wanted to use the 50 to donate to skin cancer research? Do you suppose she wants comped at Race for the Cure?
Some of you are really typical petty, jealous, mean-spirited bloggers. An Olympic medalist, world-class athlete does not ever need to pay entry to a local road race, at least not in my race. It's an issue of respect. According to some of the posts I've read here, I guess there should never be comped entries for anybody ever.
So if Meb called you as a RD and asked for a comped bib number to your race (not a free hotel etc), youre gonna say no. I would want a runner of that caliber in my race especially if I didnt have to pay them even more to race it.
mary cullen was refused entry into her national championships until she payed 25euro.
surely her goverment grant covers this.
The fact that she changed the entry on her website is proof of the power of Letsrun!
Greg Crisman wrote:
Some of you are really typical petty, jealous, mean-spirited bloggers. An Olympic medalist, world-class athlete does not ever need to pay entry to a local road race, at least not in my race. It's an issue of respect. According to some of the posts I've read here, I guess there should never be comped entries for anybody ever.
How about the athlete respecting that the money is going to charity?
Who needs $25 more -- Deena or the charity? Where will that $25 do more good -- with the charity, or in Deena's pocket?
Greg Crisman wrote:
Some of you are really typical petty, jealous, mean-spirited bloggers. An Olympic medalist, world-class athlete does not ever need to pay entry to a local road race, at least not in my race. It's an issue of respect. According to some of the posts I've read here, I guess there should never be comped entries for anybody ever.
So if Meb called you as a RD and asked for a comped bib number to your race (not a free hotel etc), youre gonna say no. I would want a runner of that caliber in my race especially if I didnt have to pay them even more to race it.
Yes and I would put someone who attacks others over a 25$ entry fee as being pretty petty and mean-spirited as well.