Happy Monday! Another start to the week and the last week in February. Hope everyone had a great weekend!
I do not have a race this weekend (hooray!) but I am volunteering on Sunday at the NYRR Washington Heights Salsa, Blues and Shamrocks 5K as my +1 volunteer requirement for the NYRR 9+1 program to get guarenteed entry into the 2016 NYC Marathon. I’m excited because I’ll be volunteering for the Kids Race so I get to see all the little kiddos running their hearts out 🙂 It’s going to be so cute!
The race that wasn’t…
So yesterday I was all geared up to run the NYCRUNS Central Park Half Marathon. I have been following the weather all week so I knew there was a possibility of snow on Saturday, but I was hoping it would clear up by Sunday. Unfortunately we got a good amount of snow/sleet/rain in CT and the roads were very icy early in the morning (I’d have to leave my house by 6:00am). I thought about driving to the train station and taking Metro North railroad into the city but that wasn’t an option either. I knew the race wouldn’t be cancelled (more on this in my next paragraph) so I decided to do the smart/safe thing and not attend the race. I was so annoyed because I have never signed up for a race and not completed it. When I commit to something, I like to do it!
So NYCRUNS has the standard no cancellation/no deferrals policy, and I get it, but I do think there need to be exceptions to the rule, especially when the weather is bad. I’ve read comments from people on social media saying that the roads in NYC were not that great either and the Central Park was a slushy mess. Then my friend that was able to make it to the race told me that because of the conditions, they changed the race to a “fun run” (so no timing), but that participants could run and still pick up their medals. I do understand that canceling a race is no small task, and it should be a LAST RESORT option, but it’s also not fair to cancel a race a few minutes before it’s supposed to start. The weather conditions at 5am were the same weather conditions at 8am, so there is really no excuse for the last minute cancellation. I have heard that the Parks Department told NYCRUNS that they had to cancel the race at the last minute, so it seems like it was a shock to all. I don’t think they realize that not everyone that signs up for these races lives in NYC – many people live in CT, NJ, Staten Island, Long Island, etc. If these people knew the race was essentially cancelled, I’m sure they would have not made the commute. I can understand if they don’t want to offer refunds, but they should at least give the option of letting you sign up for another race at a discounted rate. In addition, there was NO communication over the weekend about the conditions in Central Park. When I ran the NYRR Fred Lebow Half in January, we were constantly getting updates by e-mail, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram up until the morning of the race. Because of this experience I’m really thinking of sticking to NYRR races from now on. I think NYCRUNS really dropped the ball on this one and they need to re-evaluate how they handle winter races in the future. But I will say in their defense that the NYCRUNS race director did send around an email apologizing for today and stated that they hope to make this up to the runners, so I think they must have received many complaints. I’m not sure what the ultimate outcome of this will be, but I do give them a lot of credit for sending out that email because it showed that they did at least care about trying to make things right.
New PRO Compression Sale!
On a happier note, PRO Compression is running a sale on their leggings and tights through February 28th.
Use code 50LEGS to save 50% off all compression leggings and tights! This is an awesome deal. I do not own the tights, but I do own the leggings and they are great for all types of exercise. I’ve worn them for running, boot camp, spinning, etc and they never fall down or feel uncomfortable. If you’re in the market for some new workout gear, I would highly recommend taking advantage of this sale.
Welcome to the Honey Stinger Hive
I’m very excited to be a part of the Honey Stinger Hive for 2015! I love all of their products – gels, chews, waffle – and they help fuel me through long runs, hard workouts and races. Their products are organic and they also have a kids product line. Oh, and they also sell honey 🙂 I’m looking forward to representing Honey Stinger, in addition to Nuun and PRO Compression, at my future races this year.
Wishing everyone a happy Monday, and remember…
I can't believe they canceled at the last minute, that is CRAZY! It does sound like a fun race though and at least they let people do it as a fun run if they still wanted to participate. Congrats on becoming part of the Honey Stinger Hive- that is awesome!
Thanks! I'm thrilled to work with Honey Stinger – love their products! I agree – it was good that they still allowed the fun run but I think people were annoyed that it was canceled last minute, especially for people where the this race was their first half or full marathon.