I recently received an e-mail from a reader who is pretty upset with the Columbus Marathon. Though "supposedly walker friendly," the race dropped the walkers' results from their web site shortly after posting them.
One of her friends sent an e-mail to the race director with an unsatisfactory answer. Apparently, the director denied that there was a walking division and suggested that walkers should pay more because they're out on the course longer. She went on to say, "As you know, many of us pass a lot of runners when we participate in a race of any distance. I think most of us don't mind not having walkers' times posted separately if we go into a race knowing that there is not a walkers' division, but when it's deleted after the fact, it just doesn't seem right. Some of us are going to boycott the race."
Not all races have to welcome walkers. We're adults - we'll just choose races that want walkers. However, if a race promotes itself as walker friendly, and says it wants walkers to enter (Remember the Prevention Magazine team?), then it should make an effort to actually be friendly to walkers.
Now, I'm not personally calling for a boycott of the Columbus Marathon (though I would not discourage people from skipping this race). However, on October 19, 2008 I'll be in Detroit walking the half marathon.
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