everything will not be handed to you on a silver platter

Okay, it's time for a rant.  I just finished reading the comments people have posted about this year's NCR Trail Marathon, the one I just ran last Saturday.  Everyone is whining and complaining about how they got a huge performance shirt instead of a fleece vest and about how their race was inexusably meddled with because we ran the course backwards.  If they would spend half as much time running or sleeping as they have complaining, they'd be ready for their next marathon.  Quite bluntly, get a life.  The world does not revolve around you-sometimes mistakes happen and quite honestly, if you're prepared those things won't faze you.

Read the comments here:  http://www.marathonguide.com/races/racedetails.cfm?MIDD=554051126 .   My comments should be up in a few days.  Hopefully they'll be a voice of reason in this disturbing example of our entitlement society.  Sometimes mistakes just happen-it isn't the first time and it won't be the last and I'm sure you've done it yourself at some point.  Hopefully it's just the marathon recovery going to their heads, because it's frankly embarrassing my fellow runners are acting like spoiled children.

Same thing with disasters.  There's a reason we tell you to "Make a plan, Build a Kit."  It's because that while disasters are scary, they do occasionally happen to you and what's even more scary is when you don't know if your family is safe or if you'll be able to survive on your own for the couple of days it'll take until authorities rescue you.  Let Katrina be an example:  rescue and relief agencies cannot reach everyone at once or move as quickly as we'd like.  The point is not so much whether they should but what you can do to protect yourself.

In the end, it's about personal responsibility.  Stop complaining and DO SOMETHING ALREADY. Go for a run or build your kit but don't just sit around blaming others for everything.

End rant.

~Bethany