Even the man of steel has a weakness
Simon Sawe may run like Superman, but he isn’t faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive or able to leap tall buildings in a single bound — qualities that would have come in handy in the last 400 meters of the Des Moines Marathon held last weekend.
Despite having to wait for a train to pass and, in the process, lose a 10-second lead, Sawe was able to break the tape first, beating second-place finisher David Tuwei in a sprint to the finish at Sunday’s event.
The race was not intended to have obstacles. The detailed course and schedule were provided to Iowa Interstate Railroad, the operator of the train, in advance. We all wonder how this could possibly happen, as the mistake now gives late night television yet another reason to poke fun at our fair city.
But while the timing of the train was unfortunate, what happened was an honest mistake. We could easily use the rest of this column to chastise the company, and you would likely agree. But we will resist that temptation and instead praise them for taking full and immediate blame for the blunder. They did not point fingers at the city of Des Moines, the runners, the marathon organizers or anyone. Maybe they saw no way out of this one. Maybe they commented before their attorneys prepared a response. Or maybe — just maybe — they are honest, respectable people who ’fess up to their mistakes.
Mick Burkart, vice president of the Iowa Interstate Railroad, said in no uncertain terms that his company was at fault and that there was no excuse for it happening. It was their admission of being a big lump of Kryptonite, if you will. And in this case, there was no escaping it.
We have to wonder what may have happened had Sawe not kept his lead and won the race. Would a lawsuit have followed? One would think that race organizers would have things like this covered in the release form the runners sign, but who would have expected this?
The bottom line is that Iowa Interstate Railroad screwed up, and that’s OK. Because in this day and age of cover-ups, lies and deceit, it is refreshing to see a company assume responsibility before it is forced to do so. CV
