The 2003 Great Race Canceled

Is this a joke? Where did you see this?

I know that recently Pittsburgh laid off a lot of city employees, including emt's, cops, etc, and maybe this is satire of some kind.

I was wondering why I hadn't received an entry in the mail. This is such a disappointment. I peak for this race evey year.

It's true, I saw it on the news two nights ago. It is a shame, but I guess these things do get cut in budget cramps. I wonder if they took into account the huge amount of money this event dumps into Pittsburgh every year?

That's weird, I got several entries for the race, even the oh-so-flattering letter inviting me to register for the "seeded" area because of my super duper time last year.

A pox on the clueless leaders that presume to run this city.

My husband and I run it every year - and we did not get any entries....I was just thinking about that.....

Oh well, for you regional people, check out the Peace Race in Youngstown the week after the Great Race was scheduled. It is run at Mill Park, elevation drop, a good race.

Peace Race, Youngstown YMCA, Steve Hixson 330-758-8708

October 5th

Doesnt it seem like they might TRY harder to put the race on given that races bring in large amounts of money from people that generally have money to spend...

Old Man:

It seems there has been a struggle for Parks and Rec funds for states in the East/Eastern Midwest over the past year. State budgets have crashed and so many job losses.....

I wonder if the Mayor is just trying to "send a message"....

But they should did spend a ton of money on that new football stadium..............................in defense, Pittsburg sells out every game....

The Peace Race in Youngstown is a good course with good race operations/leadership, however the support from the city itself and surrounding communities is nonexistent. The race used to draw one of the best 10k fields in the U.S., where 30 flat barely broke into the top 25 men. The race has had trouble with a major sponsor since the PharMor scandle years ago, as PharMor was the major race sponsor. Youngstown does not have much to offer as all of theatres hotel/motel, good eats etc are outside in the burbs.

Mill Creek park where 3/4 of the race occurs is great, especially during the fall, but that's about it.

For those fleet of foot, the decision for US only prize money was implemented last year and appears will continue this year. Contact Steve Hixon or Ted Rupe for details.

I am in Maryland now and the budget crisis is horrible here as well..But in my town the Annapolis 10 miler is staffed by the local running club..cant Pittsburg do the same.??..and I was thinking about this..Does anyone know a state that isnt in the red..??..I am curious, Id like to see if a state or 2 was prepared for this..

If you're interested in a little longer than a 10K at the end of September, one of my favorite races is the Philadelphia Distance Run.

http://www.philadistancerun.org/

run mizuno wrote:

In regards to the Peace Race:

For those fleet of foot, the decision for US only prize money was implemented last year and appears will continue this year. Contact Steve Hixon or Ted Rupe for details.

if you feel like you are an elite athlete and you might be interested in this race, you can contact Dave at

Thanks. Philly sounds like a good option.I think that Mayor Murphy is pulling a political stunt with the canceling of this race. It is true that the race attracts out of town folks who come to Pittsburgh and spend money...generating tax revenue for the city. It is also true that there is an entry fee, which after multiplied by the couple to few thousand runners, can add up. It is further true that there are major corporate sponsors with enough money to offer prize money and appearance money.What I wonder is how much does the city actually spend on this race? I expect not much and that the revenues generated from the race could offset its minimal cost to an extent. Another consideration is how much has the city spent on advertising thus far? Did they order shirts already? Isn't that a cost? Now, they'll have to refund all of the entry fees. There is an administrative cost to that in addition to a cost for mailing all entry fees back. So, the city is deciding to waste more money to make a point?Murphy is an idiot.

Another option wrote:

If you're interested in a little longer than a 10K at the end of September, one of my favorite races is the Philadelphia Distance Run.

http://www.philadistancerun.org/

Yinz guys are just jaggin around. I heard that the Mayor wants more of an ethnic flare to this race and plans changing it's name to the "Kielbasa Classic" or "Run for the Hoagie".

Make sure you send him an email with your preference.

Ahhh, I have fond memories of the Great (Big) Race. I was part of the timing crew for about 10 years until the chip came along and my services were no longer needed. My job consisted of trying to organize the chaos of runners finishing...trying to get them to spread out after going under that overpass into one of about 6 chute areas. It was not a job for the indecisive or meek.

I got to see some startlingly fast times turned in including a just over 31:00 by Laura Mykytok. With the early female finsihers, we herded them over to one side. Some officials were yelling at Laura to finish down the middle because she looked like a guy. But I knew her from her MI days and waved her down the right way. Just doing my job.

Got to see the course and it was a PR waiting to happen! I could go on but w/cancellation, think it best to say, "It's a damn shame the race is no more." Come to think of it, one year they boosted the entry fee about double and lost a ton of runners who never returned. Over 10000 used to finish.

One other thought --

The shitter of it all is that the damn mayor has the nerve to call himself a runner. I say Buggeroff Mayor Tom...get a clue.

Hoovis

I read in the PG that the special division of Parks and Recreation that holds the race was laid off. Front page today.

and I wanted to meet Rodger Kingdom this year...

wwaaaahhhhhh, cry cry.

and who's going to be the anchor stores on the proposed north shore multi-use commercial/recreation/?? development where 3rivers used to be??? if L&T are leaving the triangle, whose gonna come in and settle over there??