I say they do not and should be banned. It's a footrace, not a wheeled race. You might as well allow Dave Reading to ride his electric bike in marathons.
I say they do not and should be banned. It's a footrace, not a wheeled race. You might as well allow Dave Reading to ride his electric bike in marathons.
0/10
Wise One wrote:
I say they do not and should be banned. It's a footrace, not a wheeled race. You might as well allow Dave Reading to ride his electric bike in marathons.
http://www.fox25boston.com/news/baa-unveils-changes-to-hand-cycle-program-for-2017-marathon/511897829
Dude if you try taking them out of Marathons, your life won't be worth living.
Racechairs YES
Handcycles NO
Bill Bowerman said "If you have a body, you are an athlete." People with SCI and other permanent medical conditions that render them unable to stand still have a body and are still an athlete. Their arms, when pushing, are their legs. Track and Field (including road-racing) is a sport of physical participation. The mechanical handcycle should be considered as a type of bicycle and included in competitive cycling. The prestigious Boston Marathon was the first marathon to allow wheelchair participants and requires a qualifying time. The handcycle division was added to Boston only because of the WMM and its prize money fund for all divisions.
In full disclosure, an athlete I work with (single leg amputee) is racing on Monday on a handcycle.
While the rest of the world lags behind the US in ADA-type thinking and legislation, Europe is clearly ahead in accepting para-athletes into a variety of sports.
para coach too wrote:
Racechairs YES
Handcycles NO
Bill Bowerman said "If you have a body, you are an athlete." People with SCI and other permanent medical conditions that render them unable to stand still have a body and are still an athlete. Their arms, when pushing, are their legs. Track and Field (including road-racing) is a sport of physical participation. The mechanical handcycle should be considered as a type of bicycle and included in competitive cycling. The prestigious Boston Marathon was the first marathon to allow wheelchair participants and requires a qualifying time. The handcycle division was added to Boston only because of the WMM and its prize money fund for all divisions.
In full disclosure, an athlete I work with (single leg amputee) is racing on Monday on a handcycle.
While the rest of the world lags behind the US in ADA-type thinking and legislation, Europe is clearly ahead in accepting para-athletes into a variety of sports.
I definitely agree with this post. Wheel chair use seems to be analogous to walking/running as it is the go to alternative to able bodied ambulation and I think is the obvious parasport to be included in a foot race. Handcycles on the other hand are clearly designed to offer considerable mechanical advantage and are not immediately recognizable as an alternative to walking or running for people without full use of their legs.
Also, and this is just my personal opinion, wheel chair racing is a cool sport to watch. The tactics of the races get pretty interesting and the level of athletisism is quite high considering the small pool of athletes relative to able bodied athletics.
Yeah, it's a troll thread.
That said: I happen to agree that it's a footrace. Doesn't bother me if people with other modes of transport are on the same course at the same time, as long as they don't interfere with the footrace.
And as long as they aren't called "the Boston Marathon champion"--no, the Boston Marathon is a footrace, and if you're the wheelchair winner you should always be noted as the BM *wheelchair* champion. The "Boston Marathon champion" is a footracer.
For years I dreamt of staging "The Human (Foot) Race." First human to (legally) cover the distance on foot and hit the finish line would be the winner. No divisions by age or sex, no mechanical devices...if you were looking for that stuff, go to another race.
Are handcycles geared or are they "fixies"? If single-geared, I could see the inclusion. If multi-geared, nopes. I remember watching Marine Corps one year and noticing all the chaired participants were in handcycles and not a single pushchair.
I think its fine if they are in, I just don't like that you have to disabled to compete. I'd love to get in a wheelchair and give those guys a roll for their money. But no, able bodied people can't compete in the wheelchair division. BS
handcycles are geared
Perhaps the most hi-tech unit out there is the one former F1 driver Alex Zarnadi rides
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/09/06/article-0-14D9FD3E000005DC-251_634x750.jpg
plog wrote:
I think its fine if they are in, I just don't like that you have to disabled to compete. I'd love to get in a wheelchair and give those guys a roll for their money. But no, able bodied people can't compete in the wheelchair division. BS
I did not know that. If anything, having legs that aren't atrophied would be a disadvantage. It makes since to keep able bodies out of the paralympics because the whole point it to celebrate the handicapped. But I thought the wheelchair division was to celebrate people with strong arms.
Please challenge this discrimination. I wouldn't be any good, so I will wheelchair race vicariously through you.
plog,
Folks that use a chair everyday would destroy you in head-to-head competition in a racechair. Amps and those without lower extremities sensation can position into the cramped frame more easily (lower) in a tuck position while able-bodied people get uncomfortable very quickly. Bodyweight must be kept forward or one will end up flipping over. Also, they are accustomed to pushing everywhere they go with shoulder strength to prove it.
I suggest before you try a racechair find a pick-up basketball game. Positioning in those chairs in more 'normal' and you can get a feel for pushing for an hour.
They belong more than hobby joggers, IMHO. But the hobby joggers pay the bills, so we have to keep them around as well.
vivalarepublica wrote:
They belong more than hobby joggers, IMHO. But the hobby joggers pay the bills, so we have to keep them around as well.
Handcranks are the hobby joggers of the handicap participants.
They should be allowed but race organizers should try to keep the slow ones out of the way of runners. At Twin Cites (for example) the faster runners catch up to slower wheel people and it can get confusing when you're dodging them, especially if you're on rolling hills.
Because I can not swim...I tried to enter a swimming race using my kayak and a pfd but they wouldn't recognize me.
imdyinhere wrote:
They should be allowed but race organizers should try to keep the slow ones out of the way of runners. At Twin Cites (for example) the faster runners catch up to slower wheel people and it can get confusing when you're dodging them, especially if you're on rolling hills.
It's not dangerous when they go slower, it is dangerous when they pass recklessly on the downhills--I've seen them nearly kill runners.
I hope one of them and the race get sued into oblivion after an accident, and then they quit mixing them with footraces--it is far too dangerous a combination.
jobberjogger wrote:
I hope one of them and the race get sued into oblivion after an accident, and then they quit mixing them with footraces--it is far too dangerous a combination.
Do you realize automobile operators say the same about runners on the roadway?
The handcycle event race field at the Boston Marathon seems to be primarily comprised of bombing survivors. They don't have to meet any qualification times for entry. It is not an event for prize money.
The push rim wheel chair event suffers from too few competitors. Tatyana McFadden has swept that race for years and many others because she is competing against perhaps only three or four other elites in that event.
Why is it hand cycles are allowed for bombing survivors but not anyone else? Are they easier to propel than wheelchairs?
I am on the boards regularly, but only toss my two cents in on rare occasions. I will give it here since I direct some races (including a marathon) that have allowed handcycles.
Hand cycles are definitely the equivalent of cycling for mobility impaired competitors. Push rim chairs are the equivalent to running for them. A lot of these competitors have moved away from the push rims because it wears out their shoulders.
I was approached a couple years after starting my marathon about whether I would allow mobility impaired athletes to compete. I knew nothing about it, but wanted to give anyone who wanted a race a chance to compete. We had to get separate insurance (because USATF recognizes that handcycles are not disabled runners). We had to do our course markings differently. We had to get traffic control personnel in place earlier. It was a significant money loss and logistical challenge, but I did it as long as I could because I wanted to support the athletes. We made some changes to the course (adding a 10 miler) which made the logistics of permitting the chairs too dangerous and difficult.
I still allow them to compete in a separate half marathon, and also put on a criterium for them that weekend so they can race on back-to-back days. We get a number of members of the Paralyzed Veterans of America racing team to take part in both events. Regardless of how much money we lose including them, I am happy to welcome these competitors because they deserve a chance to compete and the cycling events (where they truly belong) don't want them and won't support them properly.
I have been racing for over 25 years and love the sport. I try hard to not take it for granted. Welcoming and supporting impaired competitors (especially veterans) really helps keep my appreciation for my running high.
