Here is my entry information if you would like to track me on the BAA website:
I have kicked our fundraising efforts up a notch, encouraging people to make donations between $5 and $30 before the marathon, and I will match them. Hopefully this effort will help us to reach the $8000 mark before Marathon Monday! That is $8000 for cancer care and research!! Click below to donate:
Charity Backlash?
Recently I was reading a fellow DFMCer's blog (Tony,) and he mentioned the charity backlash after 2010 registration debacle. Since I did not run the marathon in 2010, I was unfamiliar with the story, so I did a little research on the topic. In previous years, people had months from the time registration opened to register for the Boston Marathon, but in 2010, there was a flood of qualified runners, crashing the BAA website, and they were forced to close registration within 24 hours. People were angry. They had worked hard to qualify for Boston, and yet still would not be able to run. They turned their anger toward the charity runners, claiming that charity runners took the spots that they had earned by "buying" their way into the race.
Like with most things, I try to see both sides, and I can certainly understand the runners' frustration. Achieving a difficult goal, like qualifying for the Boston Marathon, and then having it taken away from me based on a technicality would infuriate me, but I would blame the disorganization of the BAA, and not the charity runners. In addition to training for a marathon, charity runners also have the responsibility of raising thousands of dollars for a cause that they really believe in. My Boston Marathon experience would not have been complete if I had not competed with Dana-Farber, and even if I choose to run Boston again next year and I qualify for it, I will still run with Dana-Farber. It has been such an amazing experience to be a part of something that makes a real difference in our lives.
I am clearly not the only one that feels that way, as a large percentage of the runners on our Dana-Farber team have qualified for Boston. Tony is one of them, running for Dana-Farber as a qualified Boston runner for the third year now. Many people run for the charity because of the cause, and those who are running just to gain entry to the race are STILL responsible for fundraising for a good cause, so what is the harm in that?
Tracking Me on Marathon Day:
Watching the marathon and want to know when I will pass you? Get text updates!! Click HERE to follow the directions. All you need is my bib# 23173!! Happy racing!! One week to go!!
Yeah; I totally agree. You'll never convince me that a non-qualifier who runs for a charity team has any less right to run the marathon than a qualifier. It's the BAA's race to run as they see fit, and if they choose to carve out a certain number of entries for the charity programs, I think it's foolish not to consider them if you can't otherwise gain entry into the marathon.
ReplyDeleteI got pretty riled up when all the negative comments started flying until it became clear those bashing the charity programs simply don't get it. They can't see beyond their desire for personal achievement/accomplishment at the greater good provided by these programs and the runners who support them. Frankly, I feel a little sorry for them that their attitude deprives them from a far more meaningful experience than could otherwise be achieved by simply running the marathon.