MORE THOUGHTS ON CHARITY RUNNING

As a veteran of 16 racewalked marathons, I read Scott Douglas’s column “An Uncharitable View” in the July/ August 1999 issue with considerable interest. I concur with just about everything he says. My only quibble is his comment that “last year’s Marine Corps Marathon … saw 27 percent of the starters pull out before the finish.” The term “pull out” implies that the people quit either voluntarily or because something happened to them. I would be willing to bet that they missed the infamous bridge closing and got hauled back on the buses. Slow as I was, I passed dozens of charity walkers in the first mile. It saddened me to think that those folks had no chance to beat the closing and were doomed to an ignominious bus ride.

The Marine Corps Marathon is not walker-friendly; a pace of 14:40 or better is needed to beat the bridge closing. Therefore, the charities that sign up walkers for this event are obtaining money under false pretenses. The unfortunate walker busts a gut to raise funds in the anticipation of impressing his family, friends, and donors with a glorious marathon finish, and then suffers the humiliation ofa DNF.

January/February 2000

The Marine Corps Marathon is not to blame for the bridge closing; it is imposed on the race by the traffic authorities. It has been reported that the bridge closing was to be extended half an hour for the 1999 event. It still won’t be all that walker-friendly; even with the extra 30 minutes, it will take a 16-minutes-per-mile pace to make it over the bridge in time, which is pretty brisk walking, faster than I saw last year. Still, I would be willing to bet that it took the political © clout of the charities to get the authorities to accede to even that much of an extension.

Phil Cousineau’s delightful book, The Art of Pilgrimage, says, “Religious historian Huston Smith finds four aspects to pilgrimage: singleness of purpose; freedom from distraction; ordeal or penance; and offerings.” By these standards, a marathon, particularly a charity marathon, qualifies as a pilgrimage. So please don’t send these pilgrims on a journey doomed to failure.

Charles Cohn Austell, Ga.

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