by Larry Eder
David Bedford, Race Director, Virgin London Marathon, photo by PhotoRun.netLet me get this straight. So, the guy who directs, arguably, the most complicated marathon in the world, the Virgin London Marathon, has resigned as the manager of the London 2012 Olympic marathon. Knowing Mr. Bedford, one surmises that perhaps the politics that is insidious in an large sporting event, and its organization, such as the London Olympics, has made the already complex nature of a successful championship marathon course and it’s operations virtually impossible to manage.
Nick Bitel, the CEO at the Virgin London Marathon, told InsidetheGames.biz that Mr. Bedford was frustrated with the organizers of the Games. Apparently, the folks at London 2012 just do not appreciate the complexity, from security issues, to course planning, to the logistics that go into planning an Olympic marathon.
Face it, the Olympics is a focal point for every extremist group (left or right) who wants to make the global media stage. One must consider such events in a contrarian fashion to be successful. Bedford and his team do just that at the Virgin London Marathon, all the way to Bedford planning his retirement from race directing at said marathon.
David Bedford is a unique individual. A former World record holder at the 10,000 meters, one of Britain’s greatest runners, Bedford has worked behind the scenes (along with greats Brendan Foster and Ian Stewart, among others), to make distance running in Great Britain better at both the elite and the citizen runner level. That the London 2012 marathon committee does not comprehend this, well, is their loss.
One hopes that London 2012 can find a way to pull the proverbial head out of their backside, but, alas, egos are egos. Without David Bedford, something will get missed in the London 2012 Olympic marathon. And with that, my stomach becomes uneasy……
Image via Wikipedia
LONDON (GBR): David Bedford, the race director of the
Virgin London Marathon, has quit his position as manager of the 2012 Olympic
marathon because of his “frustration” with the Games organizers. Bedford’s
colleague at the London Marathon, chief executive Nick Bitel, has revealed that
the 61-year-old former world 10,000 meters record holder stood down from his
Olympic role in February. “We are a professional business run by professionals
and it was very difficult to work for another organisation who in the main have
never organised an event of their own.” Bedford
was quoted. Bedford also described the handling
of the decision to cut out East End boroughs
from the marathon route as “appalling” writes Insidethegames.
