A Sudden Awakening From Olympic Dream

The L.A. Marathon advertised that it “will follow the Olympic course for the last six miles” but it does not begin or end in the Coliseum. The original PR literature (from which the statement was quoted), the maps which show the Coliseum as the start/finish point, and all the pictorial advertising (newspapers and television) show runners in the Coliseum and implied that the run at least ended in the Coliseum.

Myself and three friends, all recreational runners, got hooked on the image of running across the finish line to the cheers of the crowd inside the Coliseum. After a month of discussion, we decided to get on a three-month training schedule to achieve the glorious fantasy. After three months of arduous training, we received in the mail the official route of the course which casually announces that the run starts two blocks away from the Coliseum and ends “directly in front of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.”

We were stunned. Our fantasy was destroyed. It appears that the advertising was misleading, purposely obscured to motivate others to catch the hype, join in and make it a success, i.e., to make the city their promised $50,000 and the promoters their money.

My friend and I will run, and will feel glorious in our achievement but not without a bitter taste in our mouths.

MASON EINHORN

Beaumont