patrick.net

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/nevius/article/S-F-directs-Nike-Marathon-complaints-to-sex-line-4914729.php

San Francisco residents who live near Union Square got two surprises early Sunday. First, the Nike Marathon, which had a start time of 6:30 a.m. to minimize traffic congestion, started broadcasting amplified announcements and music at 5:30 a.m.

Neighbors, some in their bathrobes and slippers, came out either to express their dismay at the early hour noise or called the city's 311 line to complain. Many were told to call the Nike line, (800) RUN-NIKE.

When they did, however, a woman answered and suggested the caller might want to "unzip that fly, baby." That number is a phone sex line. The actual Nike complaint line is (866) RUN-NIKE.

It isn't clear how the city got the wrong number, but when I called 311 Monday afternoon, they were still giving out the number for the sex line.

All in all, it did nothing for the mood of the residents. Nike does a great job with the annual event, billed as one of the largest women's marathons in the world, and the race has contributed millions to cancer research. That's great.

"But," says Cammy Blackstone, deputy director of the city's Entertainment Commission, which issued the permit for the race, "it is 5:30 on a Sunday morning."