OK, before I get into this, I’ll disclose the fact that I got a spot in the 2020 Popular Brooklyn Half. And there’s a decent chance that I’m not nearly as annoyed by yesterday’s events as some of you are this afternoon.
But still, woof!
Tens of thousands of people had themselves a time trying to sign up for this race yesterday. And I get it. It’s a fast course, it ends on the boardwalk, and it’s a great excuse to eat a hot dog at 10 in the morning. So when NYRR’s virtual queue imploded, people had lots of feelings. I guess you could say that I was among them, and I’ll own the fact that I also chimed in when it became clear that something was amiss.
To the person in charge of tech at NYRR, I would be happy to review your resume free of charge! #PopularBKHalf
— Rich Moy (@rich_moy) January 22, 2020
But after the dust settled, I scrolled through some of the comments again and it dawned on me: The people in charge of NYRR’s social media accounts had a horrible day. And I don’t think they could have done much more than they did.
To be fair, the technology was bad. And I’m not a developer, but I’m way too paranoid to beta test something like NYRR’s virtual line in a live environment. But I am a content marketer by trade, and I have run a couple of social media accounts for previous employers. And I know that even on a good day, you’re bound to get yelled at by someone on Twitter about something you can’t fix.
Again, that’s not to say that NYRR shouldn’t be figuring out how to prevent this from happening again in the future. But there are two things I’ll say about this before my kid wakes up from a nap.
First, cut the social media managers out there some slack. It sucks that some of you didn’t get a spot in this year’s Brooklyn Half, but take a deep breath the next time you feel the urge to unload on Twitter.
More importantly, I think this is a good opportunity to remember that running should be fun. Sure, races are a part of that equation, but there are plenty of things we could have done if nobody was able to register for the 2020 Popular Brooklyn Half. Here are just a few ideas I had yesterday:
- The Winner Buys Lunch Half. Get a few of your friends together to run 13.1 miles. The person who finishes first buys lunch.
- The Rich Moy Runs 13.1 Pro-Am Race for Dumplings and Other Foods. A race hosted by yours truly, during which we would stop at my favorite places for soup dumplings. Don’t expect to run fast, but do prepare to set a personal best in dumplings consumed in one afternoon.
- Spend time with people you care about. Running should be fun, and if you can’t race, it’s OK. Just go do something else.
I’ll be honest: I’m afraid to publish this one. This still might be a sore subject for many of you out there, and that’s totally fine. But can we at least agree that maybe punishing the social media folks at NYRR isn’t the best way to get what we want? If not, that’s OK. You’re still invited to run the Rich Moy Runs 13.1 Pro-Am Race for Dumplings and Other Foods.
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