West Texas CrossRoads Marathon: At a Crossroads!
I come home from Jackson, Mississippi and the gym to this e-mail:
"I can't believe I am having to send out this e-mail. Here's what's going on:
"President Bush was originally scheduled to arrive in our area earlier today, but ended up staying in Washington due to the financial crisis. So his trip to Midland is rescheduled for Saturday .... Marathon Day. As of less than an hour ago (5 p.m.), I learned that the Secret Service has told the Midland County Sheriff's Office and Midland Police that they want all roads on the President's route (including portions of our half and full marathon routes) blocked no later than 9:00 a.m. Saturday at which time no foot or vehicular traffic will be allowed. Of course, the duration of the road blocks will be kept secret.
"We have contacted our Congressman who has been working with the Secret Service and the President's "lead people" to try to get a different route for the President's motorcade. So far no luck. So we have contacted the Secret Service directly to explain the huge consequences of not choosing a different route or at least leaving the routes open until our runners can clear checkpoints. We were promised a call back from the Agent, but we haven't received the call yet.
"We felt we needed to share this information with you as early as we could, even though we don't know actually the status of the races. This allows you to weigh the risk of coming to Odessa rather than having us keep you in the dark until we know all the answers. Of course, the 5K is unaffected by all this .... and we could still identify an alternate route for the half marathon and possibly the full marathon. We will keep you posted as information becomes available to us.
"Regards, Reggie Baker"
First FEMA and the Montgomery County Commissioners mucking up Ten For Texas and now the President doing the same for a marathon (the first one of the Texas season). Too bad Bush hadn't given up running or this wouldn't be happening.
Then this e-mail came in at 8:30 p.m.:
"Matt and I have come up with a solution that may work out if the Secret Service guys won't give us access to the course for the half and full marathons after 9:00 a.m. We can start the half and full races at 5:00 a.m. instead of 7:00 a.m. and everyone would pretty much be off the course before the 9:00 a.m. road closures. That way we can still salvage things for those attempting Boston qualification. We're still thinking through the logistics ... Like aid stations .... We may have to settle for one every two miles, etc.
"Thought this might encourage some of the runners who were really looking forward to a qualifying race .... We will do everything we can to still make it happen. By the way ... if you're into praying, this would be a good time.
"Reg"
Well, I'm carrying a headlamp, a hand-held flashlight and boys and girls, I'm starting at 3 a.m. It will just be a warm-up for the Texas Independence Relay.
"I can't believe I am having to send out this e-mail. Here's what's going on:
"President Bush was originally scheduled to arrive in our area earlier today, but ended up staying in Washington due to the financial crisis. So his trip to Midland is rescheduled for Saturday .... Marathon Day. As of less than an hour ago (5 p.m.), I learned that the Secret Service has told the Midland County Sheriff's Office and Midland Police that they want all roads on the President's route (including portions of our half and full marathon routes) blocked no later than 9:00 a.m. Saturday at which time no foot or vehicular traffic will be allowed. Of course, the duration of the road blocks will be kept secret.
"We have contacted our Congressman who has been working with the Secret Service and the President's "lead people" to try to get a different route for the President's motorcade. So far no luck. So we have contacted the Secret Service directly to explain the huge consequences of not choosing a different route or at least leaving the routes open until our runners can clear checkpoints. We were promised a call back from the Agent, but we haven't received the call yet.
"We felt we needed to share this information with you as early as we could, even though we don't know actually the status of the races. This allows you to weigh the risk of coming to Odessa rather than having us keep you in the dark until we know all the answers. Of course, the 5K is unaffected by all this .... and we could still identify an alternate route for the half marathon and possibly the full marathon. We will keep you posted as information becomes available to us.
"Regards, Reggie Baker"
First FEMA and the Montgomery County Commissioners mucking up Ten For Texas and now the President doing the same for a marathon (the first one of the Texas season). Too bad Bush hadn't given up running or this wouldn't be happening.
Then this e-mail came in at 8:30 p.m.:
"Matt and I have come up with a solution that may work out if the Secret Service guys won't give us access to the course for the half and full marathons after 9:00 a.m. We can start the half and full races at 5:00 a.m. instead of 7:00 a.m. and everyone would pretty much be off the course before the 9:00 a.m. road closures. That way we can still salvage things for those attempting Boston qualification. We're still thinking through the logistics ... Like aid stations .... We may have to settle for one every two miles, etc.
"Thought this might encourage some of the runners who were really looking forward to a qualifying race .... We will do everything we can to still make it happen. By the way ... if you're into praying, this would be a good time.
"Reg"
Well, I'm carrying a headlamp, a hand-held flashlight and boys and girls, I'm starting at 3 a.m. It will just be a warm-up for the Texas Independence Relay.
posted by WalkSports.com | 8:08 PM
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