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Men Sweep Prize Money In NYC Marathon’s Non-Binary Category
In the annals of innovating new ways for male athletes to crowd-out female athletes from earning prize money, one can hardly do better than the New York Road Runners. As organizers of the famed New York City Marathon, the NYRR has demonstrated its own ambivalence about female athletes by creating a cash cow for male athletes competing in the so-called “non-binary” category.
It will surprise no one that the prize money in the non-binary category was swept by – forgive the term – biological men. An irony-free celebration of the winners is available at RunnersWorld.com, itself an institution taken over by woke ideologues offering such fitness tips as Be A Champion For Black Runners By Becoming A Disruptor.
According to reporting from ESPN.com, NYRR CEO Kerin Hempel issued a press release stating, “We are so proud that the TCS New York City Marathon attracts such a diverse and global community of runners, and we are deeply focused on ensuring all of our athletes feel welcome and included at NYRR.” The same press release announced the marathon had become the first sporting event declared a “Safe Space” by the Stonewall Inn – whatever that is – in recognition of its inclusivity efforts for the LGBTQ+ community.
I reached out to the NYRR’s Director of Media & Public Relations Stuart Lieberman and asked him if the introduction of prize money for the non-binary category is limited to running athletes or if it also applies to the wheelchair division. Mr. Lieberman responded to my email by asking if my questions are “in relation to a media our (sic) public facing item you are working on?” I inferred from this response that receiving a straightforward answer to my straightforward question is contingent upon my motivations. (Mr. Lieberman declined to respond to a second request to clarify.)
The winner of the NYC Marathon’s non-binary category was Jake Caswell, a talented runner whose finishing time of 2:45:12 nevertheless would have earned him 172nd place had he competed in the open men’s category. Had Caswell competed in the open women’s category – no word yet on whether the race organizers’ famed inclusiveness would extend to this – he would have finished in 26th place and still well outside the prize money. Seconds ahead of Caswell was New Jersey’s Roberta Groner. The non-binary Caswell took home $5,000 for his effort while Groner, a bonafide woman, took home bupkis.
The remaining top four non-binary prize winners comprised a veritable sausage factory: Zachary Harris ($4000), Justin Solle ($3000), Nick Dill ($2000) and Erin Anthony ($1000).
Nice work if you can get it – I guess.
Published in Journalism
While I agree that this non-binary category is silly, it is small potatoes. According to the marathon’s website here:
Prize money in the “open division” totals $534,000, $267,000 each for men and women. First place pays $100,000, second place pays $60,000. This is for professional and invited athletes.
Prize money in the “USA division” totals $116,000, $58,000 each for men and women. First place pays $25,000, second place pays $15,000.
Total prize money in the “Non-Binary Division” is $15,000, with $5,000 for first place.
A sober, well thought out article. The author will, no doubt, be labeled a bigot. Hopefully, they don’t go wobbly.
Serious question, what exactly are the requirements to be in the “non-binary” category? I’m not even sure what that means.
Is your argument that since the prize money differential is relatively modest, then we should ignore the cultural and moral implications?
It’s not a modest differential. The non-binary awards are small, compared to the main awards. They’re still absurd, but it’s not very significant financially, compared to the overall prize money available.
We’re living in a crazy world. I don’t understand this country any more.
You omit the participation rates. The men’s winner defeated roughly 60,000 athletes. The non-binary category defeated about a few dozen athletes. The prize-money-per-athlete in the non-binary race dwarves that of the open races.
There is no vetting: simply people (overwhelmingly if not exclusively). Illogical males who “don’t feel” the male-female binary describes them. For many, if not most, it’s just a cynical financial calculation.
A particular type of mental illness.
Jerry – I found the information I was looking for to facilitate my counterpoint. There were approximately (I’m uncertain the precise number) 60 runners in the non-binary category. $15,000 in prize money works out to $250 in prize money available on a per-entrant basis. In the open-men’s and open-women’s categories there is a combined $650,000 in prize money available to roughly 50,000 entrants, which works out to $13 per.
As President Biden likes to say, “Show me your budget and I’ll show you what you care about.”