Where there are celebrities there is controversy.
And she thought she was just taking a jog around Central Park.
Less than a week after actress Katie Holmes trudged 26.2 miles in the New York City Marathon her accomplishment is being tarnished by a wave of angry runners who were not allowed to compete in the prestigious running event.
Tens of thousands of avid runners sent angry correspondences to race officials asking why Suri’s mom was admitted to the race when 60,000 hopefuls were denied.
According to TV’s Access Hollywood Tom Cruise’s better half was allowed to run as a VIP. Which means she bypassed the marathon’s lottery system and didn’t have to qualify by running in one of the 26 sanctioned New York Marathon charities (which is how Lance Armstrong got in). And, the most glaring pass-—Holmes didn’t have to meet the marathon’s qualifying time. The minimum qualifying run time for a female participant in the New York City Marathon is 3 hours 23 minutes. Holmes completed the marathon in 5 hours, 29 minutes, and 58 seconds. And even more upsetting to denied marathon participants was the fact that Holmes got in after the race’s deadline.
But, marathon officials aren’t sweating the controversy. They say “Katie’s team” approached the New York Road Runners Club months after the deadline for the race, asking to allow her to run in the marathon. Officials gave the former “Dawson’s Creek” star the royal treatment because she is a celebrity. (Nice that they are honest about it.)
“Celebrities and people with name recognition are important to every sport, it adds glitz and glamour,” the director of media relations for the New York Road Runners Club told Access Hollywood. “Does Billy Crystal have trouble getting tickets to the Yankees World Series? No. Do celebrities have trouble getting reservations in hot restaurants? No. In fact, they probably don’t even pay for the meals much of the time.”
Marathon officials explained that they give VIP spots to individuals with “compelling stories,” who are not admitted in the traditional way. Also, VIP runners are given “a different level of security.” For example, Holmes was given a pseudonym on the list of runners as a security measure.
Of course, if she was trying to keep her participation on the down low having her famous husband run out to kiss her during mile 20 pretty much blew a hole in those plans.
I say give the girl a break… she had to find some way to work off all those cupcakes.
Do you think Holmes’ entry to the marathon unfair?