Comments on: Obstacles are no obstacle for these 5Ks

By: Fred Faller

Fred Faller — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 19:25:25 +0000

Hey, Joe, you talked about the “harrier hashes” in the article. Ya know, we have just such a group in Charlotte. Run locations and info posted at http://www.charlotteh3.org/ It is a lot of fun.. trail runnning and beer, what could be better!

By: MJ

MJ — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 12:41:20 +0000

FYI

http://www.wral.com/5onyourside/video/9672182/#/vid9672182

By: JoeMiller

JoeMiller — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 19:06:04 +0000

In reply to MJ. The word "marathon" was used in the subhead of the story: I have nothing to do with the subhead or headline. Even when I was a staff writer at the N&O I had no say in the heads. I run, 5Ks to half marathons, so I'm well aware of the difference between a marathon and a 5K. I also do mountain bike races, from cross-country to 6-hour (solo) to 24-hour (team). I'm well aware of what it takes to prepare for these events — on a competitive level. Don't begrudge others, though, if they come simply to have fun — which is why the vast majority of people participate in this type of race.

By: MJ

MJ — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 17:02:50 +0000

This race was a disgusting example of too much promised and not enough delivered. obstacles were a joke, no water, no party, same stuff written by others.

one of my issues with you joe, is the free use of the word marathon in your story… “a new breed of marathon…”

a marathon is 26.2 miles joe. i know this because i’ve run 6 of them. a 5k, no matter how many obstacles is still a 5k. i wish you writers would understand that to run a marathon is to devote months of time, and countless hours to train and prepare. a fat nun could have run this 5k, but not a marathon without proper training.

i was all nervous and excited about this run based on the website. when i finished, i was disappointed.

To give this race any publicity is a disgrace to journalism, even if it is a fluff piece.

i’ll probably e-mail you this directly as you’ll probably delete it from your blog.