How Social Media Killed the ING NYC Marathon

By now it's old news - the New York City Marathon was canceled. After Hurricane Sandy tore through the Northeast,  it became clear foregoing the race was probably the right decision. The unfortunate part of this is that this decision came after days of assuring runners that the race would continue as planned - only 36 hours before the starting pistol was to go off in Staten Island.

So why did it play out this way?

Public outcry was cited as the reason for the cancellation on ESPN's Story:

"this weekend's New York City Marathon was canceled Friday when Mayor Michael Bloomberg reversed course and yielded to mounting criticism that this was no time to run a race."

Without a doubt - newspapers, television, public officials, sponsors pulling support and many other factors came into play to push the New York Road Runners and NYC to call off the race. But while the marathon's Facebook page did not spark the fire of public outcry, it did throw gasoline on a smoldering situation - here's how:

1. From a runner's perspective, people come from across the globe to participate in the NYC Marathon, so geographically, the participants are very spread out. Facebook became the default meeting place for everyone to look for answers and insight as to if and how the race was going to be conducted after the storm. As confusion set in, and concern that resources were perhaps going to be directed away from victims and towards the race, non-runners found the marathon Facebook page as their meeting spot as well. Taking a rough look at their posts before the storm, they averaged somewhere between 15-200 comments depending on the subject. After the storm - the discussion picked up- Tuesday's post had 372, Wednesday's had 645, Thursday's posts had 615, Friday's had 3000+, you get the picture, and this isn't even counting the comments on their wall. As more people came to the page, it was like a party that slowly got more crowded, louder and hotter as more guests showed up. It was only a matter of time before someone spilled a drink on someone else and hair was being pulled
2. The ING NYC Marathon did not communicate with the runners effectively. Their page sent out vague posts roughly once a day, with little information regarding the fluid situation. Posts offered little in terms of information, and their moderators did not engage legitimate logistical questions that were being asked such as if the hours for the expo were going to be altered, how transportation was going to be handled as the public transit system in the city had been massively impacted, or things as simple as, "should I get on my flight?". Unresponsiveness was interpreted as indifference.  To top things off, the official cancellation email came out 12 hours after the cancellation announcement.I was physically at the Expo when they cancelled, and the only reason I was tipped off just before I walked in the door was that I happened to check out twitter and saw the flurry of activity. 
3. Lastly, social media was leveraged to gather the movement against the race. To do this Facebook pages were created (with over 30k likes in less than 24 hours) and change.org petitions were circulated to implore the organizers and the city itself to not run the race as scheduled. The real salt in the wound for the marathon was that their own Facebook page, as noted in point 1, was used as the recruiting grounds for people to join the movement against the race.  

 It's unfortunate that things had to unfold the way they did. A lot of the same platforms that contributed to the cancellation of the race could have been used to save the reputation of the race if not the race itself. Showing empathy for those impacted by communicating with their community and providing information would have eased a lot of minds. It was noted that the race's television broadcast was going to be turned into more of a telethon for the victims - but in keeping with the rest of their communications, this was shared after the decision was made to cancel, clearly too late to change the conversation.While you can't control social media, it's critical that brands are engaged and committed to responding to it as it clearly is becoming a force to be reckoned with.


Drive Slow

Running through the Wreckage

 It's now a couple of days after the disaster that was Hurricane Sandy. We lucked out and never lost power, but roads are still blocked by trees, many people still are without electricity or water and some lost much more.

 I have some serious mixed feelings about this weekend. First, is it right to run a race through an area that has suffered immense damage? The flip side of that argument is, will the race bring a sense of normal and celebration to an area that sorely needs it? I think you could make a strong case for both, and if you take a look at the marathon's Facebook page - it's playing out in real time.

I've trained, and actually deferred my entry from last year after injuring myself. I have a lot of friends running with me, and for me, I've decided to take part in the race. If anything, it'll be an interesting weekend that I hope to bring back to all of you. I'll be live blogging my experience via my new Tumblr account Runner's Trots. I'll be taking pictures along the way, and sharing thoughts.

The adventure begins, as I try to get into the city to pick up my registration packet and then somehow make it to the starting line. As long as I can do those things, getting to the finish should be a breeze.

Drive Slow

"Taper" week - getting ready for race day

This past weekend was to be a taper week, but that also assumes I did 20 miles the week before. My birthday and my legs not feeling 100% translated into me only doing 9 miles 2 weeks ago. So, to get back  on it, my 13ish mile run on Sunday took a different route.

I didn't change too much from what I normally do - not exactly the best idea a month or so away from race day. But what I did do was push myself a bit. I typically run 5:1 (run/walk) intervals, and this week I kicked it up to 7:1's. I knew I could do it as I did essentially 15:1's in Chicago a few weeks ago with little trouble. It was time to push myself a bit. To my surprise, it was no trouble at all and I improved my time by a fair margin while still not going all out. The real gauge of how you're doing is if you can run the 2nd half of your run faster than the first half - which is exactly what I did. I went from a 10:30/mile pace up to a 10:00/mile pace with some ease.

I'm feeling pretty good heading into this weekend's last true "long run" of 20 miles. Just hoping to keep a steady pace and finish strong.

Drive slow

A tale of two customer service experiences

It's getting to be that time again where I need to cycle in a new pair of running shoes, so that I have a fresh, but broken in pair of kicks ready for race day on November 4th. You don't want to break in new gear during the marathon, and at the same time, you don't really want to do it on a long run either. In my experience (which is limited and totally novice) I've found it best to wear new shoes during some mid-week runs, and then use them on a middle distance run before the race (10ish miles).

Police sketch of the suspect

I went to Runningwarehouse.com to pick out my shoes. I've bought the same pair probably a dozen or so times in a row now, just different models each year. Good pricing, free 2-day shipping, done. Or so I thought.

Delivery day rolls around, and my shoes are no where to be found. This is pretty strange because they have been extremely reliable in the past. Delays happen, no problem. Another 2 days pass and the shoes are no where to be found. It then became apparent that some low-life stole my running shoes from my doorstep.

First attempt to sort this out was to call UPS. In short - they said to call the shipper. Not a whole lot else there.

So then I called Running Warehouse and this is how the exchange went:

• 1 Ring. A friendly voice on the other end picks up and asks how she can help me.
• I explain the situation to her, she apologizes for the inconvenience, looks up my account, confirms the order I placed and without hesitation asks where they can send me a replacement pair. 
• She then goes on to explain that they will work with UPS to try to figure out what happened with the shipment, but in the meantime, I should expect my new pair of shoes in 2 days. 
• She asks if there is anything else she can do to help me, apologizes again for the inconvenience and wishes me a good day.
• I looked down at my phone. From dial to hang up - my shoe issue was resolved in 3 Minutes.

UPS customer service

UPS called the next day to start their investigation. During the exchange with their rep, their line of questioning made me feel like I was being interrogated for the crime of stealing my own shoes. Not cool, but whatever- I get it.

Yesterday, the shoes arrived (at my mother's, since I no longer trust my neighbors) around 5pm. At 7:30pm, I received a call from another friendly person at Running Warehouse who was ensuring I got my shoes. Pretty impressive.

This morning, I got another call from UPS, this time the person asked about 4 different ways if I got the initial package. All I could say was, "No, I never got it". I'm pretty sure UPS would have water boarded me given the opportunity.

In summary:

• Runningwarehouse.com is awesome - thank you for the excellent customer service - I will continue to shop at your site.
• UPS - bite me
• The Shoe Burgler - I hope you develop plantar fasciitis while wearing my shoes

Drive Slow

Getting Lost on a Long Run

 Last weekend, I was in Chicago visiting family. My cousin Jill is participating in her first marathon (The Chicago Marathon) in just two weeks and invited me to join her training group for their long run Saturday morning.

 I was scheduled to do 12 miles last weekend - but was feeling pretty worn out from a week of traveling. Jill was running a race the next day, so she was only doing the first part of the run. The stars had aligned for me to blow off the long run! Hey, it was a taper week, I'm supposed to be taking it easy! Plan for the day was to head out for half of the run and then turn back on my own.

 Saturday morning rolled around and we met up with the Chicago Area Runners Association (CARA). This group has all sorts of programs and trainings available for runners of all levels. I found the group that was going to be running a 10:30 pace, and after some inspirational words and tips from the group's leader - we were all off on our way.

 First, the trail we were on was part of the forest reserve system in Chicago (Cook Country, if we're being technical here). There are a bunch of these park areas that basically natural plots of land all around the city. There are multiple trails all marked with different colors that runners, walkers, bikers, etc can enjoy. (there is some foreshadowing in this paragraph)

The group I was with consisted of about 8 runners who had been training together for the Chicago Marathon, like my cousin. Some were first time runners, some had completed many races, but everyone was bound by a common goal. After a mile or two, I noticed one of the runners had a "2009 Chicago Marathon" shirt on. I asked him if he did that race, as that was the year I participated in the race. We got to talking and before I knew it, we were at the 5 mile mark. I had planned on turning around after about 3 miles, but lost track of time. I wished everyone good luck on their race in 2 weeks and turned around, making my way back to the start (sort of).

Running on a trail is great, because it's quiet and you don't have to watch for cars. What isn't so great is that it can all look alike. I came to a fork in the path and decided to make a right. Seemed reasonable. I thought the markings were for a path I was on. Onward! After a while, I found myself trying to convince myself that I was on the right trail and everything looked familiar. It didn't. The big tip off was when I came to a sign that said "end of trail". Uh, oh.

I was out on a train I had never been on, with no water, and no idea where I needed to go. I slowed down, and tried to sort out where I was. Luckily - not to far into my jog back from the dead-end, I found a map. I was able to confirm I went in the complete opposite direction from where I needed to be. After sorting out my path, still not 100% sure and still without water, I took it easy and made my way back onto the correct trail, eventually finding the water station which confirmed I was back on track. Right behind me arrived the group I was running with initially, and I was greeted with questions of "what happened?!" and "did you take a nap or something?". I told them to story of getting lost, and joined them for the last part of the run.

It ended up being a great run, and running with a group really pushed me to keep up my pace the whole time. It was like having runner peer pressure. There was no way I was going to be the guy who started walking! Now, if you're not feeling great - it's perfectly fine and advisable to slow down - but a lot of the time, it's laziness that slows me down. I did my first marathon training with a group from Team in Training, and after last Saturday's adventure in the woods, I remembered how much fun it was to run with a group and how a group can really push you to do your best.

Moral of the story - don't blow off long runs. 1. It's only going to hurt you on race day and 2. Karma will catch up with you and ensure you make a wrong turn.

Drive slow

Why 18 miles was easier than 16

 The long runs are getting seriously long, folks! This week, things were really ramping up with my training. The mid-week runs are now 6-milers, and I was able to throw in a spin class and some light weight lifting too. I was a bit nervous about the run after my 16 miler was less-than-fun, but I've been there, and know better than anyone that sometimes, it's not just your week. It happens. It's ok.

 Leading up to my Sunday morning run, I knew something had to change to make this week better than last. As faithful blog-readers know, I've been trying to drop some weight for the NYC marathon, and to do this, I've been tracking my food intake with the "Lose it" app. This has worked great for my beach body, but thinking about the 16 mile run last week - I felt I wasn't taking in enough calories.


On Friday and Saturday - I still tried to eat right, but I essentially threw out my calorie budget. I made a point to eat more, and drink more water. When you're prepping for a 3+ hour run - salads go out the window. You need calories. To put this in perspective, according to my Garmin watch, I burned 2700 calories this morning.

2700.

No one eats like Gaston. But you should try

That's more than a full day of eating for me, so to have the fuel to complete my run, I had to load up a bit. This doesn't mean eat crap to get the calories though. I snacked on pretzel chips last night, some whole grains, peanut butter, etc. If I'm being honest though, I also had a swiss roll. And it was good. #realtalk.

Anyhow, I definitely felt the difference in my legs this morning. I had a lot more energy and was able to keep a decent pace for the whole run. I skipped the music today and I actually enjoyed it. Running without music for over 3 hours sounds horrible, but I found it relaxing. I was able to focus on my pace and enjoy the surroundings on a very pleasant morning.

Time for a taper week now, and then in two weeks - the first of two 20 mile runs.

Drive Slow

Difficult Long Run in the Rain

 This past weekend, I completed a 16 mile run. The key word here is completed. It wasn't pretty, it wasn't a whole lot of fun, but I finished.

 When I do long runs, I like to do them on the trail that I live near. It goes for miles, but the section I frequent is about 4 miles long. This works out well because my water bottles typically only last for about 8 miles of running. I then refill when I get back to my car.

 Anyhow - I got out on the trail by 6:45am and for the first 8 miles, I felt pretty good! I was careful to keep my pace comfortable and not too fast, knowing I had a long road ahead. I started to ease into a groove and at the turn around mile 4 - I was thinking this would be a good run.

 By this point, the trail was filling up with runners and bikers. This is an easy distraction - so I was careful to not try to pace with anyone. A huge mistake one can make is to try to run at someone else's pace. Not an issues though, just sort of kept trotting along.

When I got back to my car, 8 miles and halfway done with my run - I felt decent and started filling my water bottles back up. It's at this point that the skies opened up and a pretty decently heavy rain started falling. Luckily I was already totally gross from running - so the rain didn't bother me. It actually felt pretty nice. What it did do though is scare off about 90% of the other runners on the trail. This made for a fairly quiet last 8 miles.

So, back on the trail I go - feeling pretty good, but obviously starting to feel the effects of the workout.
10 miles in, feeling a little tired, but not bad.
11 miles, look at my watch - see i'm slowing down - uh oh - better pick it up
12 miles, at the turn, feeling pretty gassed. "this may be an interesting 4 miles back to the car..."
13 miles, Half marathon! Woo! Ok, time to walk.
14-16 miles, let's just say I looked less than athletic.

It wasn't a great run, but I finished it. I kept a positive outlook and tried to enjoy the great morning weather if nothing else. Hopefully my next one (18 miles) is a bit easier - but the main thing is to just keep after it. You have to listen to your body and slow down if you're not feeling it. Long runs are going to hurt a bit, but once it crosses the line to exhaustion or pain, you need to reel it in. Until that point though, keep positive thoughts in your head and know that you will finish.

Drive Slow