Boys NJ MOC 3200 stopped with one lap to go

NJrunning wrote:

This just shows you how far mankind has come. When I was a kid, a meet wasnt called off no matter how hard it was pouring out. Now if someone sneezes on the track meet officials call it a flood warning.

This safefty being 1# priority stuff is bunk. If safety is priority don't even have sports, people die, from falling, or unknown heart conditions, in greater numbers than they are hit by lightning in lightning storms.

i hope you are kidding--because they made the mistake of starting the race you are suggesting it be allowed to finish no matter what---and an exception to the rule must be made because of the record pace---

you are right --things have changed--focus on safety, which is good, in large part driven by fear of lawsuit---do you also realize that if an official deliberately ignored the police and told the kids to run on, and someone dies, things like criminally negligent manslaughter are on the table----

weather123 wrote:

I was there--race should not have been started--but for the people who are saying they should have been allowed to finish--you are wrong-----these kids are 16-18 and its one race---lightning kills---plus it's my understanding that the police made the call------

the people who are complaining are the same types that complain of security checks at the airport, but will point fingers if God forbid we have another terrorist attack---------

Yes, people complaining are the same type who complain of of the Constitution being trashed in order to prevent terrorist attacks. As if terrorists couldn't just go the malls, schools, sporting events, etc. Better for a few people to die from terrorist attacks, than for an entire population to live in fear without civil rights. So, congrats, liberal scum, because of you long distance highschool runners are safe from lightning, and five year old girls are kept safe by "probing" at airports across the country.

I think what this situation really puts on display is how soft NJ truly is. Most individuals from other states wouldn't be scared off by mother nature and a little of her weather. This should be an indication to college coaches that they should look elsewhere when recruiting. NJ doesn't develop the kind of toughness you want in a runner.

I don't recall a marathon ever being called because of lightning? and, how would you do that logistically???

is this a JOKE? The kids were TRYING TO FINISH. Its the old men officials who ruined it. NJ produces some of the most successful runners out there. Shame on you.

Dick Vigilante wrote:

I think what this situation really puts on display is how soft NJ truly is. Most individuals from other states wouldn't be scared off by mother nature and a little of her weather. This should be an indication to college coaches that they should look elsewhere when recruiting. NJ doesn't develop the kind of toughness you want in a runner.

weather123 wrote:

do you also realize that if an official deliberately ignored the police and told the kids to run on

Police didn't have anything to do with this. It was the NJ officials who were standing on the track, and you can see in the videos they were laughing about it and having a good time.

They didn't have to tell the young men to run on, all they had to do was to STF out of the way.

With the possibility of lightening, then the race should not have been started. Ideally the officials wouldn't have screwed all day, and the events would have been completed much earlier. The race should not have been stopped with only one lap to go.

I agree. The Rosas should skip the race Monday and go to Greensboro the following weekend where they will have some real competition to pull them well under 8:40. Running Monday would only jeopardize that opportunity.

ridiculous wrote:

He was coming off of a 63 second 7th lap and picking up the pace. then he saw the blockade and started slowing down and still came through in 7:38-7:39. IMO headed for a sub 8:40 performance 8:43 at the very worst. At that point the weather was 88 degrees and VERY humid. absolutely ridiculous decision. If i'm these guys I refuse to come back and race again on monday.

TSA Keeps Us Safe wrote:

Yes, people complaining are the same type who complain of of the Constitution being trashed in order to prevent terrorist attacks. As if terrorists couldn't just go the malls, schools, sporting events, etc. Better for a few people to die from terrorist attacks, than for an entire population to live in fear without civil rights. So, congrats, liberal scum, because of you long distance highschool runners are safe from lightning, and five year old girls are kept safe by "probing" at airports across the country.

Fantastic post.

Can one of you science guys explain the relative likelihood of a lightning strike hitting the acre of metal bleachers as opposed to hitting one or more of a dozen runners on a rubberized surface?

Wouldn't the kids be safer running on the track than the people who were still standing in the bleachers?

well during the video you can clearly hear the PA announcer say(with 600m left) that it was a police order-maybe the PA announcer made it up to get people moving--but it's there clear as day

This is the exact sentiment I was talking about. You're likely one of the people suggesting that the Rosas boycott the race when it's rerun. As runners, why don't we all just take our balls and go home.

Dick Ahole wrote:

is this a JOKE? The kids were TRYING TO FINISH. Its the old men officials who ruined it. NJ produces some of the most successful runners out there. Shame on you.

Dick Vigilante wrote:

I think what this situation really puts on display is how soft NJ truly is. Most individuals from other states wouldn't be scared off by mother nature and a little of her weather. This should be an indication to college coaches that they should look elsewhere when recruiting. NJ doesn't develop the kind of toughness you want in a runner.

Some people who have posted have some good points. Your point is ridiculous, though.

- Getting struck by lightning in a lightning storm = avoidable.

- Unknown heart condition, falling down, etc = unavoidable.

What you are saying is basically the same as saying if you're going to make the following safety precautions:

- Limits to the speed someone can drive

- safety laws wrt guns

- Requirement to wear seat belts

- Mandated wearing of bike helmets

You might as well not allow people to drive, own guns, or ride bikes.

Again, if you're going to cancel a meet because of lightening (with the avoidable consequence of getting struck), you might as well cancel the sport all together because you might die from a heart attack (with the unavoidable consequence of a heart attack) is like saying if you're going to not allow bike riding without a helmet (with the avoidable consequence of serious head injury), you might as well not allow bike riding all together because you could have a heart attack while riding (with the unavoidable consequence of a heart attack).

See how ridiculous that is?

In short...it was the right call.

Brian Wave wrote:

In short...it was the right call.

No the right call was to not start the race. VERY simple. That they stopped the race proves that starting it was the wrong call. To then stop it and stand around and do interviews is completely ridiculous.

I still cannot get over how dumb this is. They had one lap to go! One! These guys are the best long distance runners in the state it would have been 90 seconds and everyone would have completed the race. There is simply no reason why they should not have been able to finish. Esspecially because afterward the Rosas were doing interviews on the track. If the officials were really going to stop the race with a lap to go they needed to continue that urgency after they stopped the runners and gotten them to safety. Otherwise it was just a show of their power to stop a race a follow the safety guidelines properly. This would not be such a big deal in my eyes if it were not 2 of the best runners in nj state history on their way to making even more history. And it isnt even like it was a slow tactical race with no chance or records. This was a record setting race and it was cut short over some bs call. I am all for making sure that the runners are safe, but according to other posts there had been sounds of thunder at about the start of the race. If they allowed the race to start in those conditions you have to let the race finish. I also think the argument that they had to use spotters just dumb. I mean don't they know that there are radar maps they could refer to in order to access how close or far the storm is. Couldn't they predict how much time they would have before the storm hit? Not to mention you can tell how far a storm is by the amount of time between the lighting and the thunder. This is a technique used on contruction sites. Men don't just run for the hills when they hear thunder they try and figure out how far away the danger is. One f'in lap to go! One! it would have been over so quickly.

Joe Rosa was simply robbed as was everyone else in the race who was setting potentially future changing PR's as college coaches will never know how fast they would have run for recruitment purposes. I still look back at PRs in races and wondered if I could have run faster. These kids will always know that possibly their best time was taking from them at no fault of their own.

Do not allow the race to start if you are unsure if it will be safe to finish. Any runner knows that there is uncertainty everytime they toe the line for many reasons. No runner wants that reason to be that the race will be cut short by an official.

If the Rosa's dont run on Monday then whoever wins with a slower time than what Joe or Jim was on their way to running will never be given the glory in nj running fans eyes or prob even their own eyes as the real champion of the 2011 MOC 3200 title.

Liberal scum? Didn't George W pass the patriot act?

no it wasn't wrote:

Brian Wave wrote:

In short...it was the right call.

No the right call was to not start the race. VERY simple. That they stopped the race proves that starting it was the wrong call. To then stop it and stand around and do interviews is completely ridiculous.

Stopping the race was the right call.

i hope the officials behind this get cancer