Exemption for Katie Holmes Causes Anger, But Is New York Marathon a Sporting Event?

Katie Holmes ran in the New York Marathon last weekend, finishing in 5 hours, 29 minutes and 58 seconds. With all due respect to anyone who can finish a marathon at all, that's not a particularly good time.

And that has some people asking questions about why she was allowed to run, because not just anyone is allowed to enter the race. The New York Marathon has different categories of runners, including those who qualify for the race (the qualifying time for women this year was 3 hours and 23 minutes, a time Katie Holmes wouldn't be able to touch), those who get in via a lottery, and those who run to raise money for charity.

Holmes was none of those things. So how did she get in? Because she's famous.

"Celebrities and people with name recognition are important to every sport, it adds glitz and glamour," Richard Finn, director of media relations for the New York Road Runners Club told "Access." "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."

I think what it breaks down to is this: Is the New York Marathon a sporting event? If so, celebrities shouldn't get in ahead of anyone else, as sports need to be played on a level field. But I don't really think it is a sporting event. I think it's more a social event, and in that respect, it's a somewhat unfortunate fact of life that at social events, the Katie Holmeses of the world get treated better than you and me.