Atlanta Airport Experiment Under Review

Moving Week Two of Borgess Run Camp to the William B. Hartsfield International Airport, while it had a number of advantages for camp organizers, appeared to be a disappointment to some campers. Others apparently were frustrated by what they called "undercommunication." Video from the Atlanta Camp experience has been folded into the tapes of SuperBowl plays which are under review by critics awaiting the next important sports moment, believed to be The Masters (if Tiger Woods plays).

"I think I made it clear all along," said Camp Organizer Blaine Lam, "that if you were looking for that perfectly run camp in which your every whim was catered to that this camp was not for you."

Lam, who admits that his trip to see his newly born grandchildren was "a factor" in the switch of Week Two activities from the Borgess Health & Fitness Center to Hartsfield-Jackson, rejected the notion that undercommunication was a problem. "I told Chris for heaven's sake, and I'm pretty sure I said something to Janeen." He said they were not only aware of the alternative site, but had the ultimate responsibility to pass the information along to coaches, team leaders and support personnel. "If I did such a bad job, why was the camp photographer there?" queried Lam. "I think it's possible, too, that we had some people who didn't understand that we would start in the South Terminal, not the North."

Lam also admitted that course logistics were something of a problem. "That, though, was not entirely my problem. I just didn't realize that the weekend travelers were that much less sophisticated than the type of business traveler you see on weekdays. And, OK, TSA Security personnel, once we started running were not as supportive as I thought they might be."

Lam, who spends much of the winter below the 35th Parallel, agreed to move Week Four of Run Camp from the scheduled Residence Inn in Shreveport, Louisiana, to downtown Austin, Texas, site of the Austin Half Marathon the next day. "I hope that makes the whiners happy," he said. He also agreed to have the Borgess Health & Fitness Center serve as an "alternate, backup, fill-in" site for people who choose not to travel to Austin.