Will wrote:
Look there's only so much that you can control. So somebody steps on a course and does hurt a kid. The race director couldn't stop that to begin with; it is a free country. If a person disobeys the "rules" of the race, what makes you think they're going to fess up to it? How can someone blame a race director for an action they did not approve of? If the person was not liable for their actions by agreeing to them on paper with a signature, what makes the person running the race liable for the actions of an independent individual?
Well race directors have been sued when cars run intersections and have hit runners or cyclists. Remember, even if the RD "wins" he is paying legal fees or the insurance company is which means higher premiums.
You seem to have mistaken my point with my agreeing with banditting. I don't think banditting is right, but, it's not murder and it's not theft in my mind unless something is actually taken. I've organized races single-handedly as well as with others. I've also run many races. I don't think it's a problem because I've done it. Not very often, but, I think you guys are making too much of it.
Sounds like situational ethics to me. I guess that if you have driven drunk you see nothing wrong with that since you have done it. Your logic escapes me.
My point, again, is that this is a sport: it's not politics, it's not banking, it's not medicine. It's a leisure activity for most people and only a small part of life. I think it's rude for someone to try to receive goods for performance if they haven't registered. However, when I bandit, I run small races where I will run faster than anyone there anyway. I ask the race director beforehand and only do it with agreement. No harm, no foul.
If the RD agrees, then I would not call it banditing. I would just call the RD an idiot for not collecting a fee. You state it is rude and yet you have done it. Your previous statement does not mention getting the RD's okay.
You are right in that it is a leisure activity for most of us; so why not do your leisure activity elsewhere at that time.
To me, the race is like a parade (I believe the same permit process is used in many places) and the organizer can limit the floats and participants. Now would you say that since the roads are public access that you should be allowed to drive down the road right in the middle of the parade?
You are acting as if a single individual is disrespecting every single person there if the take advantage of a public event. If you want to niggle hairs, you can find your own rationale, but, in 20 years, what's it gonna matter?
As for races taking thousands of man hours, I wouldn't bandit a race large enough to require that much work. I would bandit a race with 24 people around a college campus on a Tuesday night.