View Single Post
  #31   Report Post  
Old March 12th 04, 05:40 PM
N2EY
 
Posts: n/a
Default

(Len Over 21) wrote in message ...
In article ,

(N2EY) writes:

(Len Over 21) wrote in message
...
In article , Alun
writes:

Then outside the disaster arena, there's all the marathons,
walk-a-thons, bike-a-thons and myriad other public events for which
hams routinely provide communications. Our club supports 4 or 5 of
these per year.

Those are good practice.

By the way, the Los Angeles Marathon was a success on Sunday,
record turn-out, everything run just fine.


What was your finishing time, Len? How were course conditions?


Well, Len? You said "everything run just fine".

My marathon PR (personal record) is 3 hours 57 minutes 37 seconds. Of
course that was a long time ago, and I'd need some really serious
training to do another marathon. This morning I ran for 47 minutes,
bringing my weekly total
up to 259 minutes. Nice morning, cool, sun coming up over the town of
Wayne.

What's your marathon PR, Len?

It can be done very well
without any amateur radio help


How do you know?


1. By reading about it in a respected newspaper.


Did they say "the LA Marathon can be run very well without any amateur
radio help"?

2. By viewing it on broadcast television.


Did they say "the LA Marathon can be run very well without any amateur
radio help"?

3. By knowing some details about it from one of its officials.


Did the official say "the LA Marathon can be run very well without any
amateur radio help"?

Or is that statement merely your opinion as an inexperienced observer
of both the LA Marathon and amateur radio?

Ever work at a race?


Not in a foot race.


They're called "road races" by those who do them, Len. "Road" to
distinguish them from track and cross country events. Your use of the
term "foot race" shows your lack of knowledge about them.

Why is that important to the "Economy, Stupid?"


You brought up the LA Marathon, Len, not me.

LA and other major marathons have been using amateur radio operators
for race communications for years.


If you insist...and you WILL insist.


Is it true or not? Los Angeles, New York City, Boston, to name just a
few.

You are a Believer.


I'm simply telling the truth, Len. You brought up the LA Marathon,
Len, not me.

Have you ever been IN Los Angeles?


Sure - several times.

Have you ever run a marathon? Half-marathon? Ten-miler? 10K?
Five-miler? 5K? I've run all of those distances and others.

Have you ever worked IN any volunteer function here?


Not in LA - have you?

Have you ever worked as a volunteer at a road race? Water stop, mile
marker, starting line, finish line, time keeping, set up, take down,
applications, race packets, results, etc.? I've done all of those.

YOU have NO relationship with the city of Los Angeles. I live here.
You don't.


So what? Do you have a relationship the LA marathon, or with running,
other than the commercial media?

You have no relationship with amateur radio other than as an observer
and very verbose critic.

So if it's OK for you to comment on amateur radio, it's OK for me to
comment on the LA Marathon.

btw, I probably have far more experience in marathons, running and
road races than you have in amateur radio.

Reality check: ANY marathon foot race can be done with available
non-amateur radio communications readily available in any large
urban area.


Really? OK, Len, tell us how it could be done. For example, the New
York City Marathon. Tell us how the communications for the NYC
marathon could be done without amateur radio and still have
"everything run just fine".

The first Olympic marathon event was done without any
amateur radio "help."


I know. Some of my distant ancestors originated those Games. They
didn't need any radio at all. They didn't have 20,000 marathoners like
LA did, though.

Several Games after that had NO amateur
radio "help" and also succeeded.


Nobody denies that, Len. What's your point?

The Olympic marathons are relatively small affairs, with relatively
few participants. Maybe 100 runners, all of the elite athletes, over a
course carefully prepared for them. Biggest problems in the Olympic
marathon are spectator control and security.

Nobody is "insisting" that the LA Marathon must have amateur radio
help in order to happen. The fact is, however, that hams *do* help out
there, and at many other major road races.

Maybe you didn't see the hams, so you just assume they are not there
and play no role. That's simply Not True.


I don't care one way or another about "ham radio help in marathons."


Your words here disprove that claim. If you really didn't care, you
would not have brought up the subject.

It's clear that you *do* care, in a negative way. You want to deny
that amateur radio plays *any* significant public service role, even
to the point of denying the facts. You obviously hate amateur radio
and want it to die out. Why is that?

I know a marathon can be run WITHOUT amateur radio help. That's
been done many times.


Nobody denies that, Len. But you wrote:

"By the way, the Los Angeles Marathon was a success on Sunday,
record turn-out, everything run just fine. It can be done very well
without any amateur radio help."

That statement of yours clearly implies that no amateur radio help was
used in the LA Marathon. And that's simply Not True.

You used the cunning stunt of juxtaposition there. But it backfired on
you.

You keep insisting amateur radio MUST be there


No, I don't. I simply point out that it *was* there, performing a
needed function. You weren't there at all.

The LA Marathon organizers specifically asked for amateur radio help.
Not GMRS, not FRS, not cb or cell phones. Not even a bunch of folks
with marine radios on their friends' sailboats. Licensed amateur radio
operators only were requested. For some reason that simple fact really
bothers you, Len.

Did you visit the urls I listed?

...and that's simply Not True.


Was amateur radio a part of the LA Marathon or not, Len?