26.2 Miles to Nowhere

Runners deliver supplies in State Island

Rarely in the annals of crisis management has cancelling a sporting event become as torturous as the cancellation of the 2012 New York City Marathon. It was a textbook example of what happens when big egos can't sit in a room together and work out a plan, let alone a message, about the propriety of allowing 20,000  athletes run through the carnage of a 1,000-year storm.

(Read Lessons Learned Below)

But before the week was out, a number of anonymous runners demonstrated exceptional kindness toward their host city and spared Gotham further indignity and scorn from the world.

After Storm Sandy had killed dozens of residents on Staten Island, the forgotten borough where the 26.2 marathon race begins at the apex of the Veranzano Bridge, it was quite clear the damage to life and property would require the active participation of every cop, fireman, National Guard Reservist, Boy Scout and Neighborhood Watch Captain - to save lives and begin the restoration of power to hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers.

NY Road Runners Pres. Wittenberg
(NYTimes)

Despite these realities, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and NY Road Runner's President Mary Wittenberg said that the race would go on, to show the fighting spirit of the city. Whittenberg, 50, who had doubled the cash value of the club in the past few years, was committed. The bunting and decorations were being raised as city residents formed lines for bread and gasoline a few miles away. Then, the New York Post posted a picture of two large generators positioned near the Finish Line, to heat a tent for the media. It was reported that both generators could have provided enough electricity for 400 homes.

Despite calls from every corner of the city, Bloomberg pressed on, and as late as Friday morning, said all systems were go. A few hours later, Bloomberg's office issued a terse statement declaring cancellation of the race with the classic line, "we don't need the distraction."

Wittenberg sent a semi-apologetic letter to runners but blamed the media for fanning the flames of controversy. The game was on with numerous news outlets vilifying Wittenberg as an elitist, desperately out of touch with a city still burying its dead and finding new victims.

The New York Times quoted a runner this way:

“All she cares about is hitting her financial numbers,” Colleen Kirk said of Wittenberg in a post on Road Runners’ Facebook page. “This organization owes the city of NY a huge apology!” Jamie Stephens wrote in another post. “Shame on you for what you tried to pull. Your current efforts are just too little too late. Very disgusting indeed.”

The same story shed some light on the NY Road Runners operation and how flush it is for a non-profit that is little more than a promotional operation. It raised $23 million in revenue this year, has $7 million in cash on hand and is worth $41 million.  These facts have long inflamed the running community twho pay up to $347 in entry fees for the big race.

Bloomberg wasn't out of the woods yet. During a follow-up news conference, the Mayor was disjointed in his explanation of why he persisted in keeping the marathon viable. He tried to compare it to former Mayor Rudy Giuliani's decision to hold the marathon two months after the 9-11 attacks.  Then, when asked why the infamous generators were sent back to New Jersey and not put on line in Staten Island, Bloomberg fumbled and theorized the units were being serviced.

Wittenberg scrambled back to some form of rehabilitation by volunteering personal time to help out in Staten Island and announcing $2 million in donations to various relief funds. Bloomberg, meanwhile, told parents to dress their children warmly to protect against the cold. That's the best he could do - tell Mom and Dad to put another sweater on junior as they wait for Con Edison in the dark.

Couple of lessons here:

• Make sure the principles in any big event meet and settle on action and messages.
• When unsure, don't speculate or make a promise or ultimatum you can't keep.
• Do not pick a needless fight with the media in the middle of a crisis - you need them.
• If you have bad news, don't hide behind a press release. Stand and deliver.
• And lose the sweater when giving an update on cold weather. It doesn't fool anyone.

There was a happy or hopeful outcome to the cancellation of the race. Hundreds of runners did stick around and personally volunteered in the affected areas, dispensing food and clothing and making cash donations. One elite runner scaled 20 stories in a powerless building to deliver supplies and others worked with Red Cross workers to search buildings. That could have been the real story had the principles been more in-tune with the realities at hand.