1) 0 minutes. You get in your car and leave.
2) 5-20 minutes. You wait a bit for the awards, eat some food.
3) 21-59 minutes. You wait for the awards and prize drawings.
4) 60-180 minutes. You wait as long as it takes to do all the awards and prize drawings.
Since most RDs don't have it together and take forever for awards, why wait?
I stand at the finish till the end, shaking hands with those who finish behind me. There's usually at least three of them.
I just get in the car and leave. Normally the party's over and the RDs have left when I finish.
I just collapse at the finish. I get taken to the medical tent for an IV, so I rehydrate nicely. Then because of my slow pulse and low blood pressure, I get an ambulance ride to the local hospital (thank you Obamacare!). They usually feed me before discharge. Then, my family meets me there. The parking is way easier at the hospital than at the race. The RD usually calls to see how I am the next day, and I get free entry for next year.
Until the beer is gone.
Assuming 5k:
I go cool down about 5-10 minutes after I finish (as soon as I can get back to my car and change from racing shoes to slow-running shoes). I get back when the race time is at 50 or 60 minutes, so even the slowest people should be getting done. If I know I'm getting an award, and it seems like the awards are gonna get started within ~15 minutes, I stick around and talk to people. If not, I'm out. (Beer availability adds an hour to the amount of time I'm willing to stay.)
RDs need to figure something out - the walkers have made a road race an all day event. A 10k...if they wait for the walkers to finish then it's probably 2 hours after the winners finish. Then the awards ceremony itself takes 30 minutes.
I feel bad for the walkers, but jeez - they aren't racing. Make the awards 90 minutes after the gun for a 10k and 60 minutes after for a 5k, or something like that.
Only linger if there are women in bun huggers or yoga pants.
30 minutes. I like to walk around and socialize. Enjoy some of the "free" food and chill out a big before I go home. I don't race that much so I try to make the most of it when I do.
About five to twenty minutes. Talk with some old friends, relish the energetic atmosphere. If my friends are in contention to win something I might stay around a bit longer.
Sometimes very quickly after the race ends if I have other things pressing on my schedule that day.
Ideally, I cool-off, get some water, and then do a cool-down run. And then hang out for maybe 10 minutes, unless I'm waiting on friends to do the same.
With AG awards, I wait and receive mine if I got one, but that can often take 60-90 minutes. And to be polite, I usually stay until all awards are given. If I didn't get one, then I usually don't stay for the awards and just look it all up online at home.
close to 20, unless my friends are there. Then it can be more than an hour
agip wrote:
I feel bad for the walkers, but jeez - they aren't racing. Make the awards 90 minutes after the gun for a 10k and 60 minutes after for a 5k, or something like that.
That's discrimination. We have paid for the whole event, and if we don't get to see the awards at least we should get a discount.
Make My Day wrote:
Until the beer is gone.
Which is before I finish. Kinda a sore point with me for a couple Tulsa marathons. I think the half-marathoners took all the beer. Shouldn't be that hard: just bring more than you think you need and take the extras back.
I just grab as much free stuff as I can and split. Bananas and bagels. I stuff some down my shorts and split.
At least 50 minutes. I like to wait for the second place finisher and shake his hand. Then I stay a bit for the midpackers they really appreciate when the winner stays and roots them on.
I like to mingle in the crowd, answer questions, sign shirts and give advice.
Its nice to give back to the sport.
Lefty Ruggiero wrote:
At least 50 minutes. I like to wait for the second place finisher and shake his hand. Then I stay a bit for the midpackers they really appreciate when the winner stays and roots them on.
I like to mingle in the crowd, answer questions, sign shirts and give advice.
Its nice to give back to the sport.
+1
I won over a dozen road races last year in the Mid-Atlantic.. i have a new tactic in that I just ask the RD for my prize pretty immediately, letting him/her know that I have a family and need to head home. Most accommodate pretty immediately, writing out the checks, etc., within 20-30 min of finishing. Otherwise, I wouldn't stay long at all if there is no $ or good award, as long as I am in the results (confirmed) and I can upload to Strava, I am good to go.
owl wrote:
I won over a dozen road races last year in the Mid-Atlantic.. i have a new tactic in that I just ask the RD for my prize pretty immediately, letting him/her know that I have a family and need to head home. Most accommodate pretty immediately, writing out the checks, etc., within 20-30 min of finishing. Otherwise, I wouldn't stay long at all if there is no $ or good award, as long as I am in the results (confirmed) and I can upload to Strava, I am good to go.
A little bit on the rude side. Let me guess.....you are a Kenyan runner. Collect the $$$$ and take off.
The poor RD is stuck announcing to the crowd your name as the winner and explaining that you just took off. Yeah, rude.
I wait long enough to shake hands with the 2nd place finisher, run a 2-5 mile cooldown (depending on the race distance) and then grab my award.