Chicago Marathon finish line photo
Organizers of The LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon are probably tired of seeing the photo of winner Robert Cheruiyot slipping on a sponsor logo at the finish line and cracking his head on the pavement.
Unfortunately, that image will never fade. Chicago Tribune staff reporter Lew Freedman listed the event, accompanied by the now famous photo, as the "Play of the Year," in the sports section of the newspaper's December 20, 2006 edition.
Lessons for race directors? 1) Anything that happens at your race - good or bad - will long be remembered in photos, blogs, and people's memories; 2) Do what you can to anticipate problems and prevent them before they happen (sometimes there's nothing you can do); and, 3) Act quickly to mitigate problems that occur, as Chicago marathon staff did by swiftly removing the slick logo from the street before another runner approached.