So, by pointing out crime along the marathon route I'm bringing down the city and a good event with sensationalism. By not reporting in full a shooting that occurred about block from the route an hour after runners had gone by, I'm helping the city cover up its crime problem.

Can't win. Here's a couple of notes from readers this afternoon:

Good job on the article. While Baltimore is a beautiful city, it has serious challenges it must confront publicly and not try to hide. Case in point: my mother in law lives on East Monument, just down the street from where marathoners passed. Why did the media not cover the fact snipers were on rooftops, helicopters were flying over, and a general warzone ensued during a shootout and hold up on Kenwood to the point she could not go to work? It's sad, this whole thing got covered up. Justin Fenton reported it via Twitter, but didn't see much after that - probably because it would bring negative publicity to those trying so hard to cover up the violence behind the inner harbor post card. Watch a marathoner get shot, then let the administration start asking questions.

From another reader"

So, the notion of writing about crime and the city and various events, and tourist, etc. is not a far-fetched one. Look at the publicity the Sun gave to the fights/attacks at the harbor area. Now, the marathon is a somewhat different event, and as Peter points out, hundreds of police officers are present along the route. And though the mayor is doing her job in praising residents who welcome
runners, Peter is doing his job in reminding us about the day-to-day challenges of crime.