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Walking portion of Cops event was mis-handled

2 min read

To the editor:

What a great event the Cops 5-K Run/Walk was, all for a good cause, also. The officials for the running portion of the event did a great job. The results and awards were handled professionally and in a timely manner.

Unfortunately, it was just the opposite for the walking portion of the event. It was short of a disaster.

When the awards started the overall winners were not even mentioned. the only correct winner announced was the men’s winner, all of the others were a mess. The officials of the walk left before the awards were finished.

My wife, Cookie, has been a distance runner for over 22 years, but due to disc problems in her back she can no longer run. She is now a serious competitive walker and trains daily. She was the first overall female and first in her class, but her name along with several others was not even on the list, even after turning in the finish card to the designated official. It brought tears to my eyes when everything was over and she was not even mentioned.

Finally, after everyone had left, the woman handing out awards gave her and two others some left over awards from the running portion of the event accompanied with an apology (she was not the one responsible for determining final places). It’s understandable how errors like this can happen at these events, but this is the second year in a row this has happened. It was disappointing to say the least and really spoiled what was otherwise a wonderful event.

Bill Wendt

Cape Coral