Coolest or weakest thing ever? Quarantine Backyard Ultra ends with controversial DQ after 250+ miles

Free_the_thigh wrote:

Why is the requirement even to start the lap at the beginning of the hour? That only leads to stupid situations like this.

Because otherwise you could take a nap that is twice as long. E.g. if you are running 45-minute laps then you can't nap for more than 15 minutes at most assuming you could fall asleep instantly. But if you could delay your start for the next lap, you could take a 30-minut nap. The whole point of the format is to prevent people from gaining an advantage by banking time. So this rule is not just some silly irrelevant thing. This rule is the fundamental heart and soul of what this whole race format is about.

If you got rid of the rule, faster runners could take an entire hour off by putting in a couple of 30-minute laps, thus defeating the whole purpose of the format.

jesseriley wrote:

I’m posting on 3 related threads about this. I think the organizers certainly succeeded from a promotional standpoint.

All of Proctor’s races as an organizer have been associated with Laz, so surely he was influenced here. Tough deal all around.

This is now an absolute disaster from a promotional standpoint.

Proctor and Laz failed, they should step back from the sport.

Not they they will do it but they should.

But then they'd have to run a faster lap to ensure finishing within the hour. Also at some point the deeper the sleep the harder it would be to come out of it, get ready and run a solid lap.

I didn't watch the race, wish I had now, but was there anyone else DQd for not starting on time while actively trying to get to the start line. I know many people were probably DQd for that reason officially.

What was an athletic competition, and battle of wills, ended up spoiled by some selectively nit-picking Rule Nazi.

As soon as Brunner stepped onto his treadmill, he had "started".

This isn't a hollow victory - it's no victory at all.

You're missing the point - that's not the race format.

It might be easier, or harder, but it's not how they have set it up.

It's a bit like looking at the race walk and saying "Wouldn't it be easier if they just ran?" (well... more so than they are already).

Separately - the reason they have set it up in this format, is to stop faster folks from doing exactly what you've suggested. The whole point of this type of event, is to level the advantage that faster runners get.

You, and several hundred other people, have quoted that "rule," but it's not the rule. The rules are on a different page; this one:

https://personalpeak.ca/quarantinebackyard/guide/

What you've quoted is from the general information page about how the race works.

I say rematch for another Gold Roll of TP. 24K solid, though, next time.

I think it's clear why he wasn't DQed. He had a strava trace at the same time of day that started on time, when he first left for his lap, and the "9 minutes late" was from a separate timer. This theme has come up several times, and it reads like sour grapes (which I understand, but shouldn't be allowed to obscure what Wardian did).

jesseriley wrote:

The consensus is the organizers looked for any excuse to pull the plug.

I don't blame you for this, but that's ludicrous. This event had to have succeeded beyond the organizers' expectations, and there was no reason for them to end it. They had more than 2,000 viewers for huge chunks of the weekend, two of the world's toughest ultra runners on their way to an all-time record in the Backyard format, and an RD in tears when he knew he had to DQ one of the final two competitors. I would be astounded to learn that they pulled the plug on purpose.

Free_the_thigh wrote:

The requirement should be to finish the lap within the hour. Who cares if they start right at the beginning of the hour or ten minutes after, as long as they finish the lap.

[...]

The challenge would be the same, but it would be way more black and white.

I'll grant you that it would be much more black and white. But "start a new lap on the hour, every hour" and "complete a full lap within each hour" are two very different races. The former is objectively harder, since the maximum rest time anyone will ever get is under 30 minutes (and more realistically, especially later in the race, 15). In the latter, you could alternate longer rests and shorter rests. In the former, you finish one in 59 minutes? Sorry, no break possible, you have to start immediately again.

Both valid events to put on. Not the same challenge

It’s not necessarily a conscious process, RD screwups. All RD’s have been there. Lack of sleep; or money; or time; or volunteers; or experience. A million reasons why mistakes happen.

And don’t kid yourself, a good decision can also he criticized forever lol. And I would know, I’ve had friends of my runners apologize on their behalf post mortem!

This is not exactly a running event, but anyways:

The rules say the thing starts "on the hour."

I think the DQ'd guy who was on the treadmill "on the hour" is okay, but the guy running on the road who jumped the gun several times was not "on the hour."

Weird.

And too bad. We need content/sports content big-time right now, and this could have been it. Instead, we got a freak show.

My initial thoughts are this: that was the stupidest event of all time. Seriously, watching some bald dude run 9 minute miles in his basement? And the dude who was crying wen he had to DQ him? And the chick who was flabbergasted that a guy could run 4 miles in 31 minutes. Pathetic. That's not racing. That's not fun. That's boring. We need Fake Laz to bring us some perspective. And I just lost a ton of respect for the real Laz. Weirdo if you ask me.

I agree, but by being on the treadmill ready to go on the hour, Radek was complying with the spirit or intent of the rule. For future events they should make standing on the belt as an approved start, to prevent napping through the hour. This would help prevent or at least cut down glitchy tech situations like this.

I would have made the call as RD to keep going, if Mike approved. This short-changed Mike almost as much as Radek.

Fake Rock Start wrote:

My initial thoughts are this: that was the stupidest event of all time. Seriously, watching some bald dude run 9 minute miles in his basement? And the dude who was crying wen he had to DQ him? And the chick who was flabbergasted that a guy could run 4 miles in 31 minutes. Pathetic. That's not racing. That's not fun. That's boring. We need Fake Laz to bring us some perspective. And I just lost a ton of respect for the real Laz. Weirdo if you ask me.

lulz

No, it's not really a race, it's an endurance challenge. And if it were just another race, no one would have cared about it. If you think it's boring and not fun, then that's fine. You're entitled to your own opinion. You don't have to watch or pay attention. But obviously there are a lot of other people who were interested in it.

You can decry all the "gimmicks" that make backyard ultras or barkley marathons different from "real racing," but it's those differences that make them interesting. If barkleys was just another 100mi ultra, no one would give a **** about it. Personally I think the uncertain start time is the most appealing thing about barkleys. Call it a gimmick all you want, but it gives the race character. It makes it different from being just like every other race. It creates a different experience.

Likewise I think the virtual backyard ultra proved to be surprisingly not boring compared to doing a virtual standard distance race. Because the format causes all the runners to congregate and socialize on zoom five minutes before the hour every hour. This made for a surprisingly engaging watching experience compared to just watching people run non-stop with the leader way out in front from the early stages. The fact that everyone was in it together, tied for first until they drop out, and forced to congregate and socialize every hour made for a surprisingly compelling viewing experience for casual fans who aren't hung up on refusing to accept anything that deviates from traditional racing. Be honest, can you truly say that you would prefer to watch a virtual standard-distance time trial rather than this?

Yes, he's a weirdo. That's probably why he's created some interesting, innovative race formats. I sort of agree with you that he gets too much respect--he's overrated for sure. But I absolutely respect the fact that he has produced some innovative ideas. The world of ultra running would be a much less interesting place in my opinion without them.

If the runners become world-famous and the critics bury the organizers, it wouldn’t be the first time, ha ha.

It’s satisfying, in the end, if your runners go on to fame & fortune. Chin up, organizers.

As for Laz, I’ve known him over 30 years. He goes big, right or wrong. He gets results, year after year. Everything he says, everything you see, take it with a grain of salt.

His old articles in UltraRunning reveal high intelligence, but nobody knows it all of course. If he’s ever made a dime organizing races, he hides it very well.

So a global conspiracy driven by shady Russians brought down a bizarre dance competition viewed online (sort-of) by a few thousand fanatics?

https://www.zdnet.com/article/russian-telco-hijacks-internet-traffic-for-google-aws-cloudflare-and-others/