Mayors Cup - Wrong way, what happened?

I was in the race as well. I was towards the back so I'm not entirely clear on what happened, but the story I got from teammates that were watching the race is that the bike leading the race went left and took the lead pack up bear cage hill, instead of going right completing the loop around the field. You run by that spot twice. The first time you go right, the second time you go left. The lead pack did the reverse and went left and then right. So they ran the same distance just a little out of order.

Anybody know where I can find a link to the results from today?

That's all great for the guys who ran the normal course and the ones who ran the out of order alternate course. What about the guy(s) who were there when the BAA guys, who got the runners back in the right direction, decided to switch? I'm not saying anyone should be disqualified (although technicalities would say otherwise) but if definitely cost a lot to go back and run the correct course. Had I known that going left would have been acceptable, I would have continued the wrong way. #runwhereever http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lF7CX3pdHvQ

They didn't run different loops, they ran all the same loops just in the wrong order. It's supposed to go:

Inside loop

Loop with bear cage

Loop with wilderness

Loop with wilderness AND bear cage.

The runners who did it wrong did something like:

Inside loop

Loop with bear cage

Loop with wilderness AND bear cage

Loop with wilderness.

either way, they ran the same course (unless someone skipped bear cage at the end claiming to have incorrectly run it twice earlier).

Hasn't this race gone on for over 20 years? Embarrassing.

In theory it's great that they all ran the same course, but the problem being is it then becomes two separate races. The first person to take the right turn should have been the lead runner. The guys who took the wrong turn should have run the correct course once they got back on track. How fair is it to be in the lead, go up bear cage, come off of bear cage only to find people behind you taking that right and finishing. You went from 1st to 15th without getting a chance to race the guy who eventually won.

Rule 65... 7. Leaving Track, Field, or Course: (a) No competitor, after leaving the track or course, shall be allowed to rejoin a race either for the purpose of gaining a place or to pace or to assist another competitor. (b) In field events and in the combined events, with the permission of the Chief Judge of the event and accompanied by an official, a competitor may leave the immediate area of the competition during the progress of the competition (other than during a race). Competitors excused to compete in another event need not be accompanied. (c) In any track event of 20,000 meters or more or in any road race, a competitor may leave the road or track with the permission and under the control of a judge or other authorized official, provided that by going off or returning to the course the athlete does not lessen the distance to be covered.

http://www.rrtc.net/finishline/rules.html

And by the USATF RR rules, when they made a wrong turn, they should have been DQ'ed.

anyone know if the course is now truly a 8000m or still the same 7955m course?

Was there a biker out there? I didn't see one. Either way, this was a really unfortunate situation. I guess technically the guys who went the wrong way should have been disqualified, but it's not like this is a national championship race and they seemingly did all the loops, just out of order. Was there any prize money on the line in this race?

Yep, $600 for first and paid to maybe 5th?

I heard a volunteer directed them the wrong way, not the lead bike. It sucks that that happened, but if people ran the right distance then it is what it is. Disqualifying them is definitely the wrong move.

A few guys realized the mistake and turned around. Those guys are royally screwed. The guys who went the wrong way ran the hill at 3 miles in instead of 4.5 miles in. What a joke.

The guys who were led the wrong way should get their entry fee back.

Wow, I didn't realize that they got led astray, I just assumed there was no one there and they made a wrong turn. So did anyone who went the wrong way get prize money?

Yes, they did get prize money and teams too.

The rules require that runners who go the wrong way be disqualified, but they weren't. One official said that it is the runner's responsibility to know the course so those BAA runners who new the course and ran the right way should have won instead of the runners who went the wrong way, but the BAA was the sponsor so that would not look good. So what to do?

Maybe Steve Vaitones will grace us with his prescence on this thread and rudely let us know that the officials "work hard" and were "tired" from "being at the meet all day" as he has been known to do in the past. (See usatf New England track meet at Harvard a few years ago were officials were screaming at 5k athletes to get the eff in the line before they were given hip numbers!)

At least give the runners who were led the wrong way their money back.

anyone know if the course is now truly a 8000m or still the same 7955m course?

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Holy crap, no wonder I ran so fast there!

Ouch, some of the top guys/teams came in from PA and NC. If I made that kind of trip and then lost out on money because of a technical mistake, I'd be pissed and probably not show up again.

Regardless of the letter of the law, the race organizers should do something to help/compensate these guys for what happened.

With that said, what did actually happen with the pay out?

XY wrote:

anyone know if the course is now truly a 8000m or still the same 7955m course?

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Holy crap, no wonder I ran so fast there!

haha 45 meters isn't really going to make much difference...

Wrong way Corrigan wrote:

Yes, they did get prize money and teams too.

The rules require that runners who go the wrong way be disqualified, but they weren't. One official said that it is the runner's responsibility to know the course so those BAA runners who new the course and ran the right way should have won instead of the runners who went the wrong way, but the BAA was the sponsor so that would not look good. So what to do?

This seems so strange, has there ever been precedence where a race has upheld results when the winners went the wrong way? I understand it wouldn't look good to DQ the top finishers but it almost seems worse to keep the results as is.