I heard something about the Columbus Marathon tonight that was pretty shocking. (Part of the reason it was shocking is that everything I heard previously was that it was a great race. But then again, those walkers were 5-hour finishers.)

The rumor I heard today is that, though the course was supposed to be open 7 hours, support for walkers was pulled after just 5 hours! Walkers on schedule to finish in under 7 hours were forced to sidewalks, and there wasn’t any water after mile 20.

Did anyone else experience anything like this?

If races don’t want walkers that is fine. There are plenty of marathons that really want walkers! But, if you say you are going to have the course open 7 hours and that you have a walking division, then you need to have a walking division and leave the course open as long as advertised.

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