How is this not a DQ? I understand going off course was not her fault, but she received 2 rides and did not go back to the point where she missed the turn. Just skipped ahead three miles.
It was a RnR race, can't expect too much from them.
I agree this is stupid and she should have been DQ'd.
-why do they have an unmarked turn?
-how to TWO lead bikers not know the course
-i would have thought she would have been DQ'd
-i read in another article that RnR is paying her travel and lodging and race entry to any marathon she wants to go to, even if not a RnR event
-Bobby Mack FTW in the half
This girl has a history of going off courses and blaming others for her misfortunes. Course was plainly marked. Bikers screwed up, but not 100% on them. She is from the area and should have known the course. DQ may be excessive, but... She skipped the toughest section of the course (20 to 21 hills) where the leaders of the men's race severely slowed
I agree she should have been DQd, but RnR is also somewhat responsible as they are a USATF-sanctioned race and are therefore supposed to have course monitors at major turns, which they obviously did not. However a girl that can run that fast should be prepared for the possibility of running alone and needing to know the course at an event like RnR where there generally aren't a lot of people running that speed.
If it's USATF sanctioned, then she shouldn't be the winner because she didn't run the correct course, per USATF rules. Hopefully they gave the second place finisher the winning prize money as well.
No problem getting the rides, but she should have started back where she went off course.
Is this one of the weaker RnR events?
She should have been DQ'd but also received the prize money.
arbiter wrote:
She should have been DQ'd but also received the prize money.
Yes. They should have said we can't give you an official time or place, but it's our screw-up and we know you're the winner, so here's your check. I guess you would have to bump the other places, so it would cost them more.
jnknkj wrote:
No problem getting the rides, but she should have started back where she went off course.
No problem with the rides either. I just don't understand the logic. They drove the runner back too far, but instead of going to mile 19, they drove ahead to mile 22.5. Who and how did they decide that? That information is missing from the article.
yes, i'd say it's a weaker RnR event. it's only in it's second year.
marathon prize was only $500.
winner ran 2:41.
That's just plain stupid. I do have a problem taking two rides in cars. The she didn't even run the full course.
Definitely should have been a DQ. I believe the article said she won the race last year as well. How did she go off course if she had run the race before? Possible course change from last year? No excuse
They changed the course twice in the last month. The last change was just a few weeks before the race. I've heard people say that Rock n Roll is notorious for changing courses year to year.
He's my new strategy for my next (first) RNR race. Go balls out for 25k, claim I ran off course and then get a ride to the 24 mile mark for the win.
Raleigh native wrote:
He's my new strategy for my next (first) RNR race. Go balls out for 25k, claim I ran off course and then get a ride to the 24 mile mark for the win.
Let me get your winner's check ready.
It's a shame the city of Raleigh screwed over the local, homegrown City of Oaks Marathon to bring in the Rock N Roll marathon.
The city took away preferred sections of the course from the City of Oaks race, gave it to the RnR race and would not like CofA run those preferred parts. As a result, CofA has to cram lots of miles on a long greenway out and back.
On top of that, (and i don't remember the exact figures), the city gave RnR thousands and thousands of dollars and gave CofA like $650 of some slap in the face like that.
It's all about the money and corporate whoring.
Raleigh native wrote:
He's my new strategy for my next (first) RNR race. Go balls out for 25k, claim I ran off course and then get a ride to the 24 mile mark for the win.
Brilliant idea! She ran 2:49 at the same event last year. This year she had a 30 minute lead, then ran off course a few miles accompanied by official race escorts on bikes, then sat in a car for a half hour, then continued the race and finished in 3:06, winning by 10 minutes.
Brilliant racing strategy, I see why you want to do it.
elephino wrote:
Raleigh native wrote:He's my new strategy for my next (first) RNR race. Go balls out for 25k, claim I ran off course and then get a ride to the 24 mile mark for the win.
Brilliant idea! She ran 2:49 at the same event last year. This year she had a 30 minute lead, then ran off course a few miles accompanied by official race escorts on bikes, then sat in a car for a half hour, then continued the race and finished in 3:06, winning by 10 minutes.
Brilliant racing strategy, I see why you want to do it.
I don't think anyone's claiming that she did it on purpose or that it gave her an advantage. It's just clearly a bad call according to the USATF rules not to DQ her. I was talking to some other officials and if she had gone back to the starting point, maybe they could have made the call that it wasn't assistance because she was off-course or something, given that nobody else went off-course. But since she went further up the course, it's pretty clearly a DQ.
Basically RnR is even more of a joke now. Is there a penalty for being USATF-sanctioned and blatantly ignoring the rules? USATF-sanctioned races are also required to have course monitors at major turns. These races shouldn't be sanctioned ever.
"Eventually it became clear that we were off track," she said. "I didn't know what to do."
What you do is TURN AROUND AND GO BACK UNTIL YOU FIND THE PROPER COURSE. Any other action is an automatic DQ. I don't know what is so hard to understand about that.
The reason RnR did not DQ her is because they were trying to save face for their blunder. It would look bad to way more people if they DQ'd her compared to the small fraction of purist that think she should be DQ'd. They knew this would hit the media and it makes makes for a happy ending feel good story for those who are not informed about USATF rules (or don't care).
"Oh, this poor girl ran off course and was lost and ran extra miles. Oh this poor girl. But she rallied and still won the race. OMG, she is amazing!!! This Rock n Roll race must be great a event!"
Purely a PR stunt.
I'm not saying it's right.