Go to Sports Headlines

Protest Melee Mars Marathon

NEW YORK CITY -- Runners are seeing red over an anti-war protest that went awry at the start of this year's ING New York City Marathon, when a hastily formed CODE PINK picket line got trampled by the stampede of 37,000 contestants at the start of the race.

Seventeen protestors were seriously injured by a combination of the pounding and kicking of 74,000 feet, along with the angry reactions of normally docile spectators lining the approach to the Varazano Narrows Bridge on Staten Island to watch the start of the 37th running of one of the world's premier marathons.

The protest by feminist anti-war group was an attempt to fulfill the CODE PINK mission to "seek positive social change through creative protest, nonviolent direct action and community involvement." It had come on the heels of a successful protest march to stop traffic on San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge in September.

"We thought a marathon, which is essentially a militaristic sport, would be a perfect, high profile setting to protest Bush's war in Iraq," said Penelope Parsnip, a Pistol Creek University sophomore who travelled to the demonstration, yet escaped injury. "I thought it was going to be kind of a lark, like, you know, running with the bulls in Pamplona or something, but I guess no one saw this coming."

The name, "marathon", comes from the legend of Pheidippides, a Greek soldier, who was sent from the town of Marathon to Athens to announce that the Persians had been miraculously defeated in the Battle of Marathon. It is said that he ran the entire distance without stopping, but moments after proclaiming his message to the city he collapsed dead from exhaustion.

"Why can't they just leave us regular folks alone to have a little fun," said Porky Chumwater, head of the local chapter of Clear Leisure Activities of Protesters. "All of these malcontents are like social cockroaches -- nobody wants them around, but you can't get rid of them."

CLAP has seen a dramatic increase in membership since its original founding in protest to Native American protests over mascots which portray Indians in a negative light.

The top male finisher was Marílson Gomes dos Santos of Brazil in a time of 2:09:58, despite the opening melee, while Jeļena Prokopčuka of Latvia won the female marathon for the second consecutive time in a time of 2:25:05. Gomes de Santos is the first South American ever to win the race.




©2007 MFTHPPPGT




www.mudcatfalls.com



Go to Sports Headlines