Yesterday, the Marine Corps Marathon opened it's registration to the general public, a race that has received accolades for the way they manage a world class event. For some though, the registration process didn't win any awards.
For an event that hosts 38,000 participants every year, some glitches are to be expected. This year the glitch began with the registration process. MCM partners with Active.com to register runners, while I personally have never had a problem using Active.com, yesterday it appears they couldn't handle the heavy volume. This is the second major marathon this year to experience issues with Active's event registration process. While it is likely due to the popularity of this event and large volume in a short period of time, I certainly hope they can figure out how to correct this in the future.
MCM Officials took a page right out of a public relations textbook, apologizing for the glitches, talking about the testing and monitoring process they followed with Active. They talked about clearing any double registrants, and even encouraged runners who didn't get in to run the MCM for charity or wait until June when the transfer process opens.
I have to admit, I love this race so much, because they go out of their way to take care of their runners; they give early registration to military personnel, allow you to defer your race for one year (I have taken advantage of that twice over the last 7 years) allow you to transfer your bib, and even provide runners opportunities to gain registration by participating in other events, most notably, the recent 17.75 K, where everyone that completed was given registration to the MCM.
So why am I disappointed? Was it because I didn't get in? No, I used my deferment from last year and was able to register a couple of weeks ago. No, I am disappointed in my fellow runners and their posts on the MCM Facebook page.
Most of the comments are directed at their frustration about not getting in to this year's race, understandable, but I read a fair number that started personal attacks on other runners. Why did some feel they could stoop so low? It blows my mind that we are a community of runners, looking out for each other on the roads, encouraging one another except when someone didn't get the chance to play and decided to throw a hissy fit.
Come on people, it's running...
For an event that hosts 38,000 participants every year, some glitches are to be expected. This year the glitch began with the registration process. MCM partners with Active.com to register runners, while I personally have never had a problem using Active.com, yesterday it appears they couldn't handle the heavy volume. This is the second major marathon this year to experience issues with Active's event registration process. While it is likely due to the popularity of this event and large volume in a short period of time, I certainly hope they can figure out how to correct this in the future.
MCM Officials took a page right out of a public relations textbook, apologizing for the glitches, talking about the testing and monitoring process they followed with Active. They talked about clearing any double registrants, and even encouraged runners who didn't get in to run the MCM for charity or wait until June when the transfer process opens.
I have to admit, I love this race so much, because they go out of their way to take care of their runners; they give early registration to military personnel, allow you to defer your race for one year (I have taken advantage of that twice over the last 7 years) allow you to transfer your bib, and even provide runners opportunities to gain registration by participating in other events, most notably, the recent 17.75 K, where everyone that completed was given registration to the MCM.
So why am I disappointed? Was it because I didn't get in? No, I used my deferment from last year and was able to register a couple of weeks ago. No, I am disappointed in my fellow runners and their posts on the MCM Facebook page.
Most of the comments are directed at their frustration about not getting in to this year's race, understandable, but I read a fair number that started personal attacks on other runners. Why did some feel they could stoop so low? It blows my mind that we are a community of runners, looking out for each other on the roads, encouraging one another except when someone didn't get the chance to play and decided to throw a hissy fit.
Come on people, it's running...
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