I Hope We're Not This Bad

Congratulations to both the runners and organizers from the Cleveland Rite-Aid Marathon!

Not content to simply hold an irrationally long running race, these legsters also embarked on a novel and expressive interpretation of sport as art. During, or maybe before or after, Sunday's event, they installed at least 500 empty Gu and Hammer gel packets all up and down the lakefront portion of the route (and, we can project, along the rest of the route as well).

The colors add such vibrancy to the North Marginal, and the sheer durability of the non-biodegradable packaging ensures the permanence of this sprinkled-art installation.

In less-hip cities, where the populace isn't tuned in to such impromptu manifestations of street art, some minimum-wagers or volunteers might have been out there "cleaning up." Not here!

Way to go, fellow endurance athletes/artistes, and way to go, Cleveland! The Gund Foundation has a grant for just this kind of urban-creative exuberance!

- JN